"Who's the real culprits?"Even as Jade wiped her tears, she was glancing between Frank and Helen behind her desk."Exactly!"Seeing that Jade had turned her attention to Helen and Frank, Fleur promptly pressed her advantage. "What do I stand to gain if Luna's dead? Nothing! Doesn't everything make sense if they're the ones who killed Luna?!""Make… sense?" Jade was quickly being misled, as she was so obsessed with avenging her daughter that she could not think straight."Think!"Fleur kept snapping as she walked up to Jade while pointing at Frank. "Haven't things always been difficult between you, your daughter, and him? Now that he's killed Luna and shifted the blame on us Southstream Lanes, Helen would have the perfect excuses to bring us all down! It's killing two birds with one stone!"And if Helen ousts us, all the hard work and success our family accomplished over the years would fall into the hands of outsiders! So use your pig brain and think—who really stands to gain
As his blood-curdling scream rang, Gable Lane was sent flying crashing through the glass wall and down Lanecorp Tower."Frank Lawrence!"Fleur was furious to see Frank would actually kill in broad daylight, but before she could say another word, Frank wheeled on her with a sinister glare, leaving her flinching."Insolence!"That was when the elderly woman who had been standing by Fleur all this while strode up.While she had been calm and composed before, she was now glaring coldly at Frank as she snapped, "How dare you murder a member of the Lane family right in front of me!""And who are you?" Frank asked, though he had an idea given how the woman carried with authority, as if she was above the rest.Fleur quickly snapped at Frank, "She's Yora Yimmel, my dear sister and the matriarch of the Lane family!""Yora Yimmel?"Frank did a double take—he had never heard that name before, but 'matriarch of the Lane family' was not really hard to place.Helen flinched in turn, because
"M-Madam Yimmel?" Gina gasped. She had come to ask how Luna died in fear that Frank did something rash again, thus causing Helen to drift further apart from the Southstream Lanes. Helen's place as the head of the Lane family was not solid in the first place, and if more issues popped up right now, Fleur and her ilk would definitely seize the opportunity to ask questions.That was why Gina was endlessly concerned and rushed to Lanecorp Tower as soon as she found out about Luna's death.She just did not expect even Yora Yimmel, matriarch of the Lane family, to be here too.Things would definitely not end well now…"Just look at your daughter and her husband, Gina Zonda!"At the same time, Fleur glowered as soon as she saw Gina enter, pointing at Frank as she bellowed, "He kicked my son out of that window, while Madam Yimmel and I watched! What do you have to say about that?!"Gina was sweating buckets at Fleur's threat.If anything, making enemies of Fleur was acceptable—she w
"It doesn't matter what Gable did," Yora retorted coolly. "Your husband doesn't get to kill him under my watch. And I'll have you know that the family has been complaining a lot lately, and some of those complaints even reached me all the way in Bralog."And I just happened to be dropping by for a visit today. I actually thought that a brat like you would be actually competent, given how you're able to lead a major enterprise… But it's as frustrating as it is disappointing, because as it turns out, you have no conscience, allowing your husband to kill a member of the Lane family in front of me!"Then, pointing at Frank, she finished, "I will now have him restrained and punished per family rules. If you refuse me, we will have to make you!"Yora's rant was not just unreasonable, but she clearly held no respect for Helen as the head of the Lane family."Family rules?"Frank strode up just then, leveling Yora an icy glare. "We can afford you some respect as a matriarch of the Lane fa
Meanwhile, Gable's smug voice was still playing. "She will be banishing Helen Lane and Frank Lawrence in a few days. At that point, I'll be the sole heir of the family, and you can ask for any compensation you like!""Go on. A toast—to the new head of the Lane family!" Sohil then cheered.The clink of glasses could be heard, and soon Gable added, "Well, I'm not going to stay—I need to check in with the hag, though it's only a matter of time before Helen Lane and Frank Lawrence will be gone.""And I will wait here for the good news," Sohil replied.And with that, the recording ended.Putting away the recorder, Frank leveled Fleur Lang a look of amusement, "Confession under torture, you say? 'The hag's already poisoned the old man'... Shouldn't you be explaining what Gable said in recording instead, Madam Lang?"Frank's question left Fleur's lips pursed.She stood stiffly, intent on defending herself but unable to manage a single word.Frank then turned toward Yora. "Now, Madam Y
Yora shot Gina a cool glare right then. "What? Do you have anything to say about that?"While Gina quickly stopped herself, Helen snapped, "I will tell Granduncle everything, Madam Yimmel! He will see to this!""Pfft…"Yora merely snickered at Helen's threat. "What, did you think name-dropping Mark would work on me?""Why not?!" Helen retorted with righteous indignation. "I'm the head of the Lane family, appointed by Mark himself!""No, no, no…"Yora shook her head, laughing. "You misunderstand. What I mean to say is that the old-timer can't go against me now. Hell, why do you think that he can still hear you?""What?!" Helen was stunned. "Are you saying…""That's right."Fleur strode up with a sinister sneer. "Just this morning, our dear husband suddenly suffered a heart attack and has since been rushed to an ICU, where he slipped into a coma.""What?!"At that point, there was no way Helen could not catch on.Even as a chill ran down her spine, she shook with rage, "You
Just as Fleur was laughing gleefully, Frank raised a brow, and a subtle strand of pure vigor shot out of his finger.It shot straight toward Fleur along the lining of the tile floor, and it was too late by the time Mr. Noon noticed.Smack!The pure vigor materialized into palm, slapping Fleur across the face so viciously several of her teeth flew out, and she dropped limply on the floor, seeing stars.Yora promptly wheeled on Frank and snapped, "Insolence! How dare you, Frank Lawrence!"Beside her, Mr. Noon only moved closer to her without going to help Fleur.Nonetheless, Frank shrugged. "What?"On the other hand, Fleur was finally helped to her feet, and her eyes flared even as she pointed a trembling finger at Frank. "You brat… How dare you…""Why is everyone looking at me here? Someone simply got her comeuppance for running her mouth—it's not my fault," Frank said, glancing at Helen.Helen was surprised too but soon flashed a wry smile.She knew that it was Frank, and whi
"No!"Gina's face fell at Helen's word. "Going back to Laneville now? You'd be going straight into the lion's den—you're never making it out! Do you think that Fleur Lang would just let you go?"Helen sighed. "But if I don't, they will kill Granduncle—""Enough."Frank strode up just as mother and daughter argued, glancing between them. "I caused this in the first place—Hardy Xinder reached out to Corpsedale to get back at me, and Corpsedale reached out to Southstream Lanes. That said, I already have an idea how to resolve this issue. Both of you just have to play along…""Frank…"Helen's eyes flickered at him.He pulled her into his arms, chuckling as he understood what she was thinking. "I'm your darling, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. And I've put in blood and sweat for Lanecorp too—we're never giving it up willingly to Fleur Lang, don't you think?"Helen finally laughed after scowling for a while, while Gina sighed emotionally as she watched them, feeling troubled