******Still inside the Woods’ home, silence pressed down so heavily that even the air felt suffocating.At this moment, every eye was locked on the man in a disheveled, sweat-soaked suit that clung to him as if he had just run across the world. His face shone with perspiration, his breath came in ragged gasps, and every movement radiated panic.Even Glenn, the man who rarely flinched at anything, found himself staring in a stupor right now.His expression remained calm on the outside, yes, but behind his placid gaze, his mind snagged on the absurdity of what he’d just heard. ‘The Woods’ company has been… shut down?’ he wondered blankly, staring at the man as though trying to decipher whether this was some poorly written joke.His eyes flicked briefly to Jonathan, then back to the messenger, as though testing if either of them could make this scene make sense.Jonathan’s reaction, however, left little room for doubt. His entire body shuddered as if jolted by a live current, and

******As soon as Glenn heard Sophia’s frustrated, helpless, and anger-filled voice, he turned in her direction, his brows furrowing in mild puzzlement, the questions originally filling his mind further increasing.But before he could even think too much about what she had just spat…Lorraine, who had been pale and lifeless like a ghost not long ago, snapped her gaze onto him.In the next instant, her eyes turned pitch-black like midnight darkness, brimming with merciless hatred that had clearly been simmering for years.Then, before Glenn could even react to this sudden reaction, Lorraine’s trembling hand lifted, and… her finger stabbed at him as though she were about to condemn him to the worst sort of death imaginable.“Bastard! All of this was your fault!” she spat, her voice ragged with pure loathing.Glenn instantly stilled, blinking as though her words had caught him mid-step.He was unable to react for a second, too stunned. Then finally, his lips moved, releasing a qu

****** Lorraine’s voice suddenly broke, then she sniffed hard, her eyes rimming red, and tears brimming with equal parts sorrow and fury. “…My husband, who had once been full of vitality, was driven into the ground. His hair grayed, and his spirit withered… all because of you… all because of this. He developed high blood pressure. So now, do you understand what you’ve cost us?” Finally, Glenn’s composure didn’t just crack; it shattered. He had always prided himself on keeping his emotions leashed in all situations. But now, the words speared straight through him. He had sensed their resentment and knew that they bore deep personal hatred toward him. But the reason… he hadn’t expected it to be this devastating, a chain of cause and effect that had shattered their family. It was something he had never imagined. For a long moment, Glenn just stood there, his body stiff and his eyes unfocused, his mind turning into a storm of chaos. The room seemed to shrink around him, p

******The two’s reactions were so vivid and so certain, showing that they genuinely believed that Glenn’s mere involvement would curse the entire situation.For a brief second, Glenn could only stand stunned by the sheer absurdity of their panic.Then the absurdity dissolved into quiet humor. In the following second, his lips curved into a small, knowing smile. 'Ah… they really have no idea who the current me is,' he mused.But he didn’t bother trying to explain. Words would do nothing, and convincing them right now was as pointless as arguing with a storm.So Glenn let his silence linger for a moment, letting them stew in their own fear, before finally dipping his chin in the slightest nod.“Fine,” he said softly, his expression unreadable. “I’ll only step in if he can’t handle it.”The promise offered should have been reassuring. But to the mother and daughter duo, it was laughable, so they laughed… though their laughter now carried a sharp edge of scorn.Both women looked

******Lorraine chuckled again after hearing her daughter’s innocent response, but it was darker and heavier this time, carrying venom beneath its sweetness.“Over my dead body,” she spat.Sophia’s brows drew together. “But… then why…”“I only agreed with your father,” Lorraine interrupted, her voice sharp and deliberate, “because I knew he wouldn’t back down until he thought he had gotten his way.”Sophia blinked, her expression blank for a long moment as she processed the revelation. Then, slowly, the light of realization flickered across her eyes.In the following second, her lips curved upward into a smile that mirrored her mother’s own, sly and knowing.“You must have planned something, haven’t you?” she asked, her voice lowering, heavy with anticipation.Lorraine’s smirk widened, turning bright and merciless. Then she tapped a finger lightly against her chin, her eyes narrowing with a gleam of calculation.“Bingo,” she exclaimed, a cold, predatory, and dangerous glint s