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
Jon Lane—Gavin Lane's second son—alighted. "Madam Lang? What are you doing out here? Dad's saying that Grandfather fell sick, and he's asking you to head back right away."He was very respectful, since he had no idea why his grandfather was sick in the first place.As he finished and turned to see the imposing woman beside Fleur, he stiffened right then. "Madam Yimmel? W-What are you doing here? My dad just sent someone to Bralog—"Yora snorted coolly. "Hmph! It would be the end of the world if I had to wait that long!"Jon quickly hung his head, sweating all over his brow in silence. After all, Yora held a special place in the family—not only was she Mark Lane's first wife, but she was also the foundation which Mark built his success in business upon.One might say that the Lane family would not enjoy their current status without the Yimmels' help—even Mark usually had to defer to her.And since Yora was as unreasonable as she was assertive, the Lane were all terrified of her.
Yora, however, sneered. "You don't worry about that. While you're head of the family, you're no more than a figurehead—every family matter will instead fall under my control.""What?!"Jon almost tripped—so he was only supposed to be a puppet?What did Yora want? To take over the family?"That's a big deal, Madam Yimmel. It's not too late—we can go back and discuss this with Grandfather…""Resistant to the idea, Jon decided to name-drop Mark, but Yora did not even flinch.Shaking her head in disdain, she scoffed. "You said it, didn't you? The old man's dying and can't decide on anything. As the most senior member of the family, I'm the only one who can make the call.""No, no, no…"Jon protested. "Grandfather is just sick. It's not so serious that he must leave a will already… and Dad's already sent for the best doctors. He'll regain consciousness soon enough."Seeing that Jon was still not playing along, Yora turned toward Fleur, who flinched but said coolly, "Your grandfathe
"B-But even if Grandfather wouldn't listen, you didn't have to go that far. He's your husband, and…"Jon trailed off feebly as fear seized him.If Yora could go that far, it made sense that she could eliminate him for her own ends.And to no surprise, Yora narrowed her eyes dangerously at him as she snorted. "Hmph. I guess I can make it simple for you—go back to Laneville and take your place as the new head of the Lane family… Or I'd just have to pick someone else."Jon gulped, as his worst fear had come true.If he refused Yora, he would not fare any better than his grandfather.What choice did he have if he wanted to stay alive?Hence, after some thought, Jon quietly nodded.However, his face was ashen, and he certainly did not appear pleased or thrilled to become the new head of the Lane family."Very good."Yora clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. "Though you might be head of the family in name only, you stand to gain much. Just stick to being a figurehead—don't wor
Fleur's vitals finally stabilized after the doctors operated on her, but things did not look well despite her survival.Jon quickly stopped one of the doctors after the surgery and asked, "Is she going to be alright?"The doctor sighed. "Her condition is terrible, Mr. Lane. Most of her organs are failing given her old age, and…""And what?!"Jon was very irritable just then.Yora suddenly appointed him head of the Lane family and then left Fleur in his care.It certainly went without saying that this was a test assigned by the matriarch, and Jon would be punished if Fleur died under his care.The doctor continued just then, "It seems that the patient has been routinely consuming a certain substance. While it improves her health for periods of time, it's also highly addictive and accumulates in the body over time, building up toxicity."After a moment of hesitation, the doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lane, but there's really nothing we can do here.""What?!" Jon bellowe