*****Everyone suddenly went rigid, staring dazedly at the old man. Even Nico’s family, who had been so loud a moment ago… always believing that the old man would always pick their side and do their will, blinked in disbelief.The patriarch had just claimed he’d be turning a blind eye to Williams’ crime, which was… it was one of a kind.Everyone was too stunned to react, and just at that moment...“But let this be the final warning.” The old man continued, his voice still calm, indifferent, and cold. “Step out of line again, and you won’t like what follows.”Every jaw dropped to the ground, every mind stalling.“That was that.” The old man added, his voice almost sounding casual. But before anyone could breathe, he finished, calm and unhurried. “Now… you should apologize to the child.”The room froze in stunned silence.Nico and his family blinked, briefly thrown off-balance.Just now, like Williams and Susan, they had thought something was wrong with the old man; after all,

*****At this moment, whether it was Williams and Susan or Nico and his family… every single person sat frozen in place, staring dazedly at the old patriarch as though their ears had betrayed them.It took them a while to truly digest what the patriarch had just said, and when comprehension finally settled on them, shock spread across every face.“This… you don’t mean it, Father?” Nico suddenly gasped, his voice breaking into disbelief, his eyes gleaming as though he had glimpsed a treasure chest lying open before him.But the old man didn’t so much as twitch.Instead, he continued sitting motionless, radiating an air of untouchable authority, his face seemingly carved from stone, showing not even the slightest tinge of expression.Nico, however, was completely far from disappointed. Instead, he directly took his father’s silence for agreement, and at that very instant, immeasurable thrill coursed through him, his heart pounding wildly.His lips twitched into a grin, his gaze d

*****Feeling the suffocating aura radiating from the old man toward herself, Susan’s throat tightened, and for a second, she nearly swallowed her words back, her instinct telling her to stay silent and not provoke him.But then she thought of Grace... her daughter, and forced herself to stand taller. Her voice shook, but she managed to press on.“Father… I… I don’t think it’s right to hold this meeting without the person at the center of it. Please… allow me to call her. At least confirm where she is, and if she’s well.”“Nonsense!” a voice suddenly barked, startling everyone.Every head instantly snapped toward the source, and all eyes landed on Mason.He was currently glaring at Susan… his aunt, with eyes blazing with hostility, nothing in his posture suggesting respect.If anything, he looked at her as though she were an underpaid servant daring to question his authority.“We’ve waited more than six hours already!” he barked, his voice thick with scorn. “And you still want

*****Susan’s throat couldn’t help constrict, thousands of words appearing at the back of her tongue, begging to be spoken.But, eventually, all she managed to do was release a shaky exhale. “Huff…” Then she nodded her head, silently conceding. ‘Now was not the time.’With this, the couple shared a brief, fragile look of understanding before they both turned their gaze back toward the patriarch.The old man sat motionless, his face giving no thought or expression away, appearing to have been carved from stone.“You’ve really canceled the forced marriage?” Susan blurted out, her voice rushing out without filter. She hadn’t even realized what she had called it.The patriarch’s gaze snapped toward her at this, a shard of ice flashing in his eyes.For a split second, the room grew cold… but then, for the sake of his plan and maintaining his façade, he masked it over with a curt nod.The couple almost broke into sobs of joy right there and then.“Then our daughter doesn’t have to

*****Williams and Susan had already suspected that there would be some cost attached to the patriarch canceling Grace’s arranged marriage; after all, a man like him never gave without taking. But this… this was beyond what they had imagined.Although the old man had announced it with infuriating casualness, sounding as though he were talking about the weather, how could they not understand the implication of what he was demanding?He was, in the simplest terms, turning their daughter into a puppet.That’s correct.Grace, their own fiercely independent and ambitious daughter, would remain CEO, but only in name. But the true authority, the hand on every decision, and the one pulling the strings… would be Mason.It was…The idea felt like a punch to the gut, making their minds spiral in chaos.On the surface, the plan was technically better than their daughter being forced into that dreadful marriage, but in reality, that couldn’t be said.If Mason were at least a bit ambitious