Chapter 0004

At the entrance of the Keller Estate.

After Helena parked the car, Kenneth silently stepped out.

Seeing this, Helena quickly got out as well and hurried to follow. They had to put on a complete act in front of Rachel, pretending to be a deeply affectionate couple.

Fortunately, Kenneth kept his composure.

Just as they approached the main gate, he paused for a brief moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Helena stepped forward, gently wrapping her hand around his arm.

Kenneth’s movements stiffened slightly. He slowly lowered his gaze, eyeing her slender hand resting on the crook of his arm.

Helena took a deep breath, lifted her gaze, and smiled at him. “For Grandma’s sake, please bear with me, dear husband.”

“Likewise.” Kenneth’s thin lips curved slightly, his tone carrying a hint of mockery. “Thank you for your hard work, dear wife.”

After a brief pause, he lifted his other hand and firmly pressed down on the back of Helena’s hand, giving her a meaningful smile before striding forward.

Caught off guard, Helena stumbled slightly, managing to steady herself after a moment. Yet, his smile left her heart racing, filled with unease.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that Kenneth was quietly plotting something again!

The Keller Estate was a traditional classical manor, elegant and refined, crafted with ingenuity. The architecture lay nestled by hills and waters, with layered courtyards and pavilions.

Helena and Kenneth followed the servant for a while before arriving at the main dining hall.

Inside the brightly lit dining hall, the large mahogany dining table, intricately carved, was already surrounded by family members.

The Keller family of Greenwick had nearly a century of history, but by Kenneth's grandfather's generation, the line had dwindled to just two sons and a daughter—none of whom had lived up to expectations.

Kenneth’s grandfather, Walter Keller, had three children, each a disappointment in their own way. The eldest son was rebellious, storming out of the family home after Walter opposed his marriage to a mysterious dancer. Since that day, he vanished without a trace.

The second son, Kenneth’s father, Raymond Keller, made his escape with a mistress, choosing to leave on the rainy night of Kenneth’s third birthday, only to meet his end in a car accident.

Walter’s only daughter went abroad for school, fell for a delinquent, and chose to sever ties with her family rather than return.

Hurt by his children, Walter grew indifferent toward Kenneth, instead investing his hopes in the extended family’s descendants.

Near the end of his life, he nearly handed over the Keller family assets to his nephew.

But Rachel intervened decisively. Leading a team of lawyers, she reclaimed control over the Keller family, defying opposition to appoint Kenneth as CEO of Keller Corporation.

However, in the years Walter had been lenient, the extended family had embedded themselves within the Keller Corporation, securing key positions in various critical departments.

Now and then, they continued their schemes, still aiming to wrest control of Keller Corporation from Kenneth.

Rachel was fully aware of everything, but her age left her with limited strength; all she could do was maintain the delicate balance between Kenneth and the extended Keller family.

In the banquet hall, only the members of the extended family were seated alongside Rachel. The head seat remained vacant, and the tableware set, as always, was reserved for Walter.

Rachel, who had been listlessly listening to their complaints, brightened as soon as she saw Kenneth and Helena enter. Her eyes sparkled as she beckoned them over with a smile. "Ken, Lena, you're back! Come, have a seat!"

The relatives who had been talking with Rachel were visibly displeased at being ignored, despite their attempts to hide it.

Kenneth, however, appeared oblivious, leading Helena with confidence to sit beside Rachel. Leaning in, he whispered something to Rachel that had her laughing with joy, her gaze shifting periodically to Helena’s abdomen.

Helena’s unease only grew stronger. With Rachel present, she couldn’t say anything directly, so when Kenneth turned to look at her, she shot him a warning look to stay quiet.

He merely smirked with a laid-back, roguish grin, which made her grit her teeth and glare at him with even more frustration.

To onlookers, however, this seemed like an affectionate exchange, with the young couple exchanging flirtatious glances.

Not only had they kept everyone waiting, showing up late to the family dinner without so much as an apology, but they were now putting on a show of intimacy, clearly not taking the others seriously.

Recalling Kenneth's usual audacious demeanor, the uncles were increasingly irritated. Kenneth’s eldest relative, Jerome Keller, was the first to break the silence.

“I thought the bidding meeting for the South City project ended this afternoon. Did you two go off to a celebration party afterward?”

With Jerome setting the tone, other relatives quickly chimed in.

"What celebration could possibly be more important than a family dinner? Ken, we may overlook certain things you do outside, but traditions passed down through generations deserve respect."

“Helena, Grandma has spent years teaching and guiding you, yet instead of keeping Ken in check, you go along with his antics. You’re letting her down!”

Subtle verbal jabs came at her from all directions.

Helena, long accustomed to this, kept her gaze lowered and ignored their insinuating remarks, turning a deaf ear to the sharp-edged words aimed her way.

After all, with Kenneth here, he would be the one to handle these people when things got out of control.

Sure enough, in the next instant, Kenneth's smile vanished.

He suddenly hurled the expensive teacup in his hand, sending it crashing across the room.

The sharp sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the banquet hall, creating an atmosphere of intense pressure that radiated from him, silencing everyone in an instant.

Even the small child in someone's arms was too frightened to make a sound.

“Celebration dinner, family dinner—it doesn’t matter. If there’s food, just eat and be content, but know your limits. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to make what you eat go right back out.

“The biggest rule in the Keller family is that there are no rules. Otherwise, none of you would be here making pointless remarks.

“Neither I nor Grandma see any issues with Helena being the next matriarch, yet you all feel entitled to judge. If you’re so eager to critique, should I air some of your dirty laundry so we can all evaluate each other?”

Kenneth crossed his arms and leaned back, one leg resting casually over the other, his gaze lingering on Jerome for a moment before sweeping lazily around the room. His expression was like that of a grim reaper in idle contemplation, deciding which one of them he might claim next.

The unfiltered suggestion, the blatant sarcasm—even an obvious challenge glimmered in his eyes.

Hearing the implication behind his words, the extended members of the family felt both offended and afraid, their discomfort evident as they instinctively looked toward Jerome for direction.

"Ken, we’re your elders, just offering reminders for your own good and for the family’s sake," Jerome replied, holding Kenneth’s sharp gaze for a moment before shifting to Helena. "Since we're on the topic of secrets, why don’t we let Helena explain why she was at the police station this morning?"

At that, Helena’s heart skipped a beat.

She’d received a call from the police that morning and had promptly informed the PR department to keep the news tightly contained.

Yet somehow, Jerome knew she had gone to the police station that morning!

Helena instinctively glanced at Kenneth, only to find him seated there, arms crossed, a faintly amused look in his eyes as he noticed her gaze. Years of understanding between them meant that with just one look, Helena grasped his intention.

He was subtly hinting at Jerome’s embezzlement, deliberately provoking him by implying he could make him spit it back out.

Jerome, who had never taken Kenneth seriously, wasn’t one to tolerate a threat and quickly struck back.

But in doing so, he unwittingly exposed his weakness.

Yet Kenneth had used her as bait without warning, setting her up as part of his ploy to corner Jerome! Helena clenched her fists discreetly, gritting her teeth in silence.

Her instincts hadn’t let her down—Kenneth was definitely up to something, setting this trap with her squarely in the middle of it.

She knew he was about to throw her under the bus, yet she had no choice but to play along, as if she were a willing partner in the scheme.

It was maddening!

If not for Rachel’s presence, Helena truly would have loved to walk out and let Kenneth handle this on his own.

Sensing the tension, Rachel looked over anxiously and asked, “Lena, is everything alright?”

“Grandma.” Helena took a deep breath, calming herself before gently patting Rachel’s hand with a reassuring smile. “If something was wrong, would I still be here sitting beside you?”

Rachel still seemed unconvinced and glanced at Kenneth, who nodded lazily with a faint smile, which finally put her at ease.

Taking advantage of the moment, Helena shot Kenneth a quick glare before turning back, her expression subtly mocking as she looked at Jerome.

“Uncle Jerome, I didn’t expect you to be so concerned about me, knowing my whereabouts in such detail. To an outsider, it might look as if you’d had someone tailing me!”

Helena indirectly called out Jerome’s surveillance, tossing the ball back into his court with effortless poise.

“As your niece-in-law, I may not be the brightest, but I truly don’t understand what you’re implying. Why don’t you clarify what exactly it is that I’ve done that’s so questionable?”