For a moment both father and son froze. Joseph understood exactly what Hudson’s request was meant to do, to humiliate his son, but when James mentioned the tea, his eyes brightened. He gave a curt nod. James moved forward, took the teacup from Hudson’s hand, set it on the table with exaggerated care, then dropped to his knees.Kneeling and kowtowing to an enemy was humiliating beyond words, but James forced himself through it. Three hurried kowtows, then he picked up the cup he’d placed on the table and offered it with a flat smile. “Hudson, please drink,” he said.Hudson obliged. He raised the cup, drank, and then, casually nodded as if approving a fine vintage. “Good tea,” he said, setting the cup down.Joseph let out a slow, satisfied smile. “If you like it, we’ll have someone pack some up for you before you leave,” he said.Hudson drank again, taking a large swallow. When he put the cup down, more than half the tea was gone. Both Joseph and James exchanged looks of triumph; they

‘If you make a mistake, there will always be consequences. Refusing to face those mistakes or letting pride take over only makes the punishment worse.’Hudson knew that leaving Joseph alive could cause problems later.Ivory frowned, her voice full of worry. “Hudson, that Joseph guy has always been dangerous. Letting him live could come back to haunt you.”She drew her hand across her neck, mimicking what she’d seen in movies. “Are you sure you don’t want to… you know?”She didn’t have to say it out loud for Hudson to understand. Joseph had been forced to kill his own son, and Ivory knew that deep down, he must hate Hudson for it. Maybe Joseph was quiet now because he was afraid, but once Hudson turned his back, that fear could turn into revenge.Ivory understood one simple truth, being kind to an enemy is just another way of being cruel to yourself.“Don’t worry,” Hudson said calmly. “He won’t be able to cause any trouble anytime soon. Once the Belen family and the Thomas family start

Since the day Ivory met Hudson, she had never seen him like this before. Her chest tightened as she watched him, he’d endured five years of humiliation from the Wilson family without ever once showing anger. For him to react like this now meant only one thing, something truly serious had happened.Jayson let out an awkward laugh and tried to pull his wrist free, but Hudson’s grip was like iron. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t break free. After about ten seconds, Hudson finally released him, his voice low and sharp.“You’re hurt. Why didn’t you come to me?”“It’s just a small injury. No big deal,” Jayson replied, his voice weak and guilty.“Small injury?” Hudson’s tone hardened. “You call this small when your foundation’s been damaged? You really think I wouldn’t notice, Jayson?”Seeing that Hudson was genuinely angry, Ivory gently placed her hand on his knee, hoping to calm him down. Jayson, clearly wanting to avoid the topic, forced a grin and twisted open a bottle of wh

Hudson spun around just in time to catch a dark blur flying toward him. It was a crossbow bolt, the arrowhead gleamed faint blue under the cavern’s light. Poison.His fingers clenched around it before it could hit, and he slowly looked up toward the rocky ledge above. Three figures stood there, two men and a woman. The one holding the crossbow wore a dark blue jacket and looked barely twenty.With a sharp crack, Hudson snapped the arrow in half between his fingers, letting the pieces fall to the ground. His voice was calm but laced with mockery. “Seriously? Who the hell sends poisoned bolts at strangers?”“Damn it!” The guy in the red jacket cursed, leaping down from the ledge with the others. “We’ve been searching this place for hours, and you just swoop in and take it?”The woman landed lightly beside them, her sharp eyes glancing at the metal box in Hudson’s hand.“Hey, man,” the red-jacketed one said, his tone turning cold. “You do realize you just took something that doesn’t belo

“This… is not a good place. Forget it,” Hudson muttered, glancing around.They were surrounded by bushes in a rough, uneven clearing, not exactly the kind of setting that matched the sudden spark of passion he just had. The mood vanished instantly.“Huh?” Ivory blinked, confused. “What were you trying to do?”Now he was stunned. What I was trying to do? Wasn’t it pretty clear from the look you gave me what you thought I was trying to do?Realizing they were thinking of two different things, and that she might be misunderstanding him, Hudson cleared his throat awkwardly. “Nothing. Never mind. Let’s just keep going.”He took a few steps forward, but Ivory suddenly stopped.It finally clicked for her what he might have been implying a moment ago. Her cheeks warmed. “This kind of place? Seriously? I’m not that… desperate.”The word she wanted to say was too embarrassing to say out loud.Hudson, now realizing how quickly their thoughts had gone off-track, let out a small laugh and simply m