Frank chuckled. "You certainly have an acquired taste, Jon."Jon did a double take but soon chuckled coolly."So, you're taking the wager? Great!" Jon exclaimed, clapping his hands. "My family will be my witness—if Frank here did not force Titus Lionheart to concede, he shall be eating my hounds' poo!""Hahaha! Quit trying to act tough, Frank!" Luna scoffed. "Jon is famous for being a man of sheer will… Though I'd like to see you eat poop too!""Frank, you really should be more grounded." Gavin was left speechless by Frank's boast as well.Frank and Helen could hardly protect themselves now, but they still came to save Gina?No, forget that—Frank would actually spout such absurd lies? Did he take them for fools, that they would buy his tall tales?Gavin actually started to hold Frank in contempt at that—he felt like Frank was insulting his intelligence, and the boy really did not know his place!Sneering at Frank, Jon then spoke up again. "Did you think you could say anything y
Helen kept striding menacingly toward Gina, snapping, "What about Dad? You kept telling me he dumped you and is living like a king here!""Well…" Gina sighed exasperatedly, knowing that the cat was out of the bag. "It was an accident. I-I didn't mean to do harm.""Fine, even if you didn't, what were you trying to do with his estate?!" Helen snarled, gritting her teeth so hard that they could break. "Why were you stopping me from reaching out to Uncle Gavin and the rest of the family but so keen on having us Northstream Lanes being taken back?!""I… Uh…"Gina's eyes were darting away—she had excuses for anything else but not this question because the persons involved were right there with them!Having no choice, she started throwing a fit just to change the subject. "Oh, Helen! Don't you know that you've just killed us all? It's not just us Northstream Lanes, but even the Southstream Lanes too!"Wheeling on Frank with a venomous glare, she said, "You jinx! You bastard! You had to
Helen did not hesitate. "I'm sorry."She had now chosen to trust Frank unconditionally and refused to falter no matter how reasonable the Southstream Lanes, Gina, or Cindy were.At that very moment, only Frank was worth depending upon.Walking up to Frank's side, Helen met the confused gaze of the Southstream Lanes with her girlboss poise. "You're all saying that Roth has left to meet with the Graves and the Lionhearts, and that he'll be back soon. In that case, we can just wait for him to return, and we'll see if my husband here has been lying at all.""If he was exaggerating at all, I'll be on my knees in apology without complaint!"Helen glanced at Frank at that.Seeing that she was trusting him that much now, he squeezed her hand in assurance. "Don't worry. I'd never lie to you."Helen smiled confidently at him in turn."Are you crazy, Helen?!" Gavin exclaimed.He could not believe someone as smart as Helen would believe Frank's tall tales.He might believe it if Frank ha
"What?!"The Southstream Lanes were all left astonished by Roth's words, and even as they wondered what he really meant, Gavin asked, "What do you mean, Roth…?"He was actually skeptical and urged his son for more details.Seeing that his family had trouble understanding, Roth adjusted his glasses as he spoke bluntly this time, "The Four Families of Southstream are now three. All thirty-two members of the Graves family have been butchered—none were left alive."The Southstream Lanes were all gasping at Roth's words."Butchered? All of them?!" Gavin exclaimed, before turning stiffly toward Frank and seeing that he remained calm despite the bombshell…As if he already knew.Seizing Roth by the collar right then, Gavin cried urgently, "But what about the Lionhearts or Titus?!""Calm down, Dad." Roth adjusted his glasses as he patted his father's shoulders. "Titus left, announcing to everyone that he no longer has ties to the Graves family and would therefore not meddle with the we
Roth knew that if his family somehow upset a reaper like Frank, the same fate awaited them!He gulped even as his own family stared at him, puzzled. Leaning in to whisper into his father's ear, he said, "Dad, that man is way more horrible than you'd think!"Gavin almost blacked out when Roth told him everything Frank did at Graves Mansion.It was all true?!Still, they were certainly too short-sighted to see what powers may be supporting Frank, even gloating that they would be understanding enough to spare Frank. After all that they had done, it would be amazing at all if Frank allowed them to live!Thud!Gavin dropped to his knees as well. "Mr. Lawrence! I was too blind to see, even doubting your words and power! I deserve every punishment! We, the Southstream Lanes, are all blind fools!"Gavin was the second leading authority in the family. Naturally, him kneeling to a young man like Frank left every member of the family and their bodyguards as confused as they were shocked.
And now, as Jade heard Frank mention his wager with Jon, she knew there was no escape.She turned toward Gavin for the sake of her son, crying out, "Please! You have to do something!"If Jon got killed eating dog poo, their family would become the laughing stock of all of Southstream! Gavin did not want his youngest son to die so miserably too and turned to level an earnest, pleading look at Frank. "Please, Mr. Lawrence. My son has always been too mischievous—he's just joking to liven things up. Please be understanding…"Then, he slapped Jon in front of everyone for his stupidity, snapping, "Apologize to Mr. Lawrence already!"The slap actually brought Jon to his senses, and he quickly kowtowed to Frank. "I was just joking, Mr. Lawrence! I didn't mean to insult you…""Really?" Frank turned toward Luna, who was on her knees and trembling. "Someone told me you were a man of sheer will but would like to see me go through with your wager?"Luna turned pale from Frank's stare and hu
Around an hour later, Frank turned down the Southstream Lanes' invitation to stay for dinner and headed home with Helen, Cindy, and Gina.It had certainly been a rewarding trip. Even after Frank rejected further attempts to give him money, the Southstream Lanes managed to find a way to win his favor through Helen. Gavin swore on his honor that he would invest fully into Lane Holdings and assist the growth of Helen's business while passing the late Mason's estate to her in full.As for Jon, he was ultimately forced to honor his wager by his own brother Roth, albeit with a lighter punishment, as he only had to kiss his dogs' bottoms.He was crying but had no choice but to do it, and he sped off to rinse his mouth and brush his teeth once he was done.Days later, a group sent by the Southstream Lanes came over and brought Henry's casket home, fulfilling his last wish.Helen was at once emotional to see Frank going that far for her grandfather, just as she understood profoundly that
Given what Frank said, it was clear that the old man knew Frank and Helen herself.And Helen knew Frank enough that there was a fight between them.Helen then subtly glanced at the helicopter in the distance. It was clear the helicopter had been parked there for a while, or it would not have drawn so many people. "Sir," she said. "Please don't be upset with Frank. I understand you've waited for a while, so why don't you come sit inside?""Oh, you have good manners. That's great." Fenton smiled.Before he could get in, however, Frank stood between him and the doors. "No, you don't have to go in. Say what you need to say here and leave." Helen frowned at Frank's rudeness.However, she also remembered that Frank was not the type who disrespected elders.And if Frank was being rude, she should not overstep and correct him.Nodding apologetically at Fenton, Helen hurried inside."Go on. Say what you need to say." Frank glowered, his tone cool. "If you're going to ask me to retur