At that moment, Vito thought the same. Given that the Seven-Color Lotus had been stolen and the enemy, Henry, had arrived, Jake would certainly deal with him first. He assumed that Jake would personally take action to eliminate Henry.As Vito and Celia reveled in their excitement, Jake abruptly turned, dropping to one knee, and said respectfully, "Greetings, Master!""Greetings, Elder Stokes!"Everyone present was in shock. Even Jay, who had nervously and eagerly paid respects to Herwig, was momentarily stunned. He wondered if the young man beside Herwig was Master Murray.Regardless, Jay immediately knelt. He was drenched in cold sweat. He finally knew why Jake had been so enraged. He had never seen such fury before, and he realized the gravity of his previous actions.He had made a grave mistake and was fortunate that Jake had not acted against him. Vito's attempt to hide that truth had worsened the situation.Vito was utterly stunned. Despite overestimating Henry's status and
Celia could not accept what she witnessed. She mumbled, "This can't be true!"The thought of the 1.35 billion dollars that was supposed to be transferred but was not only intensified her fear. She looked at Jake, who had just stood up, and anxiously said, "There must be a mistake, Master! You must have the wrong person!""Shut up!" Vito snapped.Vito tried to think of a way to protect themselves. Despite having offended Henry, they had borne the brunt of the consequences so far, and Vito had carefully ensured the money Henry wanted was paid in full.There was still a chance, a way out of that mess. However, to his disbelief, Celia continued to court death.Despite his deep affection for his wife, Vito had no choice at such a critical moment. He quickly slapped her, sending her flying across the room.As she landed, the intense pain made her cry out, especially since the slap had come from her beloved husband. She felt hurt, confused, and deeply wronged.Vito knew full well that
Vito's face turned ashen, and his body trembled as he struggled to maintain his composure. The answer he was about to receive could determine whether they would live or die and whether the Hoods would continue to exist.He saw a glimmer of despair in Celia's eyes—she had most likely not transferred the money. However, where did the money go?Celia, already in immense pain and reluctant to move due to the severe swelling and agony from the repeated slaps, initially resisted speaking. However, she hastily stammered under the crowd's pressure, "I—I sent it!"Vito's face lit up with excitement. He remembered that the money had been sent, and Celia claimed it had been done. However, given that Henry had yet to receive it, something must have gone wrong.Henry quickly saw through Celia's lie. He asked calmly, "To which account did you transfer it?""To the same account we used to transfer the 150 million dollars last time," Celia replied.Vito quickly said, "We'd never go back on our w
"Show it to him, Vito," Celia said quickly, fearing that Vito might expose the truth.Vito hesitated momentarily, realizing that Celia planned to claim it was a mistake. While the idea was absurd, it was their only chance. He had no choice, so he nervously handed the phone to Henry.Henry noticed the couple's strange expressions and was intrigued by their audacity to pass him the phone. When he looked at the screen and saw the name on the transfer, he could not help but laugh.He had a file on the Hoods that had been prepared by his subordinates, which he had skimmed through. He knew Celia had a brother named Jayson.Did she transfer the money to her brother and call it a payment to him?"Mrs. Hood, I'm going to ask you again—are you sure you transferred the money to me?" Henry asked calmly."Yes, I'm sure!" Celia had already thought of a response."And do you know to whom you sent it?""Is it not the same account as last time?" Celia asked."No, the recipient's name on that t
Celia was shocked by Jayson's response despite her hints. She was not even concerned about retrieving the money then; the real issue was that her deception had been exposed.Vito, on the other hand, closed his eyes in despair.It was over.Jayson continued to gloat over the phone. "You've always looked down on me. But now that I have 1.35 billion dollars, why should I care about any of you? "Oh, and by the way, I'm off to enjoy my life abroad. Don't bother trying to reach me. Goodbye, dear sister."Jayson hung up, unaware of his sister's dire situation—or perhaps he did not care.After all, he would sacrifice anything for the money."No! No way!" Celia screamed, her face turning deathly pale as the call ended."Vito, save me! I don't want to die!" She was terrified.Vito, who had opened his eyes, only stared at her coldly. He never felt such loathing and hatred for her as he did at that moment."Vito, why are you looking at me like that? Don't you love me anymore? Didn't you
Celia almost fainted on the spot. It was a heavy slap, showing how terrified Vito was.Not only Henry but even Jake and Jay were dumbfounded by her actions. They had never encountered such a foolish woman."Please ignore her ramblings," Vito hurriedly pleaded."If you grant me a chance, I'll be forever grateful and swear my undying loyalty to you!"Henry nodded and responded calmly, "I do want to give you a chance. But with a wife like her by your side, do you think you'll escape next time?"Vito immediately declared, "Rest assured, I'll divorce her after today!""No!" Celia screamed."You can't! I won't allow it! If you dare divorce me, I'll end my life right now!"She was furious with Vito and had planned to ignore him after being slapped, and she could not accept Vito wanting to divorce her."Do as you please," Vito retorted.Celia was stunned. She was filled with deep regret.She would not be in that predicament if she had not been so obsessed with defeating Henry. Howev
Henry noticed Vito's thoughts, but he remained indifferent and said calmly, "Prepare the papers; we'll transfer the shares this afternoon."Vito hesitated."Are you unwilling to do so?""No, it's just that it requires a lot of preparation. But since you've given the order, I'll ensure it's done. We can sign the agreement by 4:00 P.M.," Vito quickly responded, his mind racing.He knew he had no choice but to comply. The best course of action was to hand everything over."Good. Remember—I don't like making a fuss. So this must be done discreetly. No one in the group should know about this, and business should continue as usual.""Understood!" Vito said.With everything settled, Henry left with his people. When they were out of sight, Vito collapsed to the ground, his back drenched in sweat. The entire ordeal had been too harrowing, too terrifying.After a moment, he glanced at Celia. Although he was reluctant, there was even more cold malice.Vito looked at the other members of
As long as a formidable person strong enough to match Henry emerged, Vito believed it would be his opportunity for revenge.However, his immediate priority was to handle the situation at hand. He swiftly arranged for everything to be taken care of.He had an even more important task to attend to—the transfer of the shares. Even though Vito had powerful connections, completing that discreetly was far from easy.The Hood Group was his family business, but he still had to inform the shareholders, even those with minimal shares.Vito did not know that Henry had not left; he was sitting in the car, waiting for Jake to arrive. Moments ago, Jake had returned to the Hood Mansion.Before long, Jake appeared."Master!" Jake said."So, what did Vito do?" Henry asked calmly."Master, you got him!" Jake exclaimed."Vito's ruthlessness is truly terrifying. And his earlier concession wasn't sincere."Jake was shocked by Vito's actions. He had believed Vito was genuinely frightened and compl