Richard's face turned a deep, mottled purple as his own son's accusation settled over the room."You dare speak such lies about your own father," Richard snapped at Nathan. His voice shook with fury barely held in check.Nathan did not flinch or back down."I stand by every word," Nathan said. His young face was pale but resolute.Victoria stepped forward to reinforce him."Mrs. Hayes and I both witnessed Sophia expose Doctor James's connection to Chad that night at the clinic," Victoria confirmed. "There is no lie here."Mrs. Hayes nodded firmly beside her.Victor watched the exchange with a calm, unreadable smile."Let us simply bring Doctor James in and ask him directly," Victor suggested. He turned toward Ethan. "Would you stay and listen?"Ethan nodded. He was curious for his own reasons, hoping the old physician might reveal something useful about the Seven Core Lotus toxin still living inside his own body.Two guards escorted Doctor James into the dining hall a few minutes late

Victor nodded without taking his eyes off his son. Victoria turned and walked briskly out of the room, returning moments later carrying a thick, old vine cane darkened with decades of age and polish.Victor took the cane from her hand and brought it down across Richard's back with a sharp crack that echoed through the entire hall.Richard screamed. The cane rose and fell again. Then again. Each strike split the fabric of his shirt and then the flesh beneath it. Blood seeped through the torn cloth and dripped onto the white marble in thin red lines.The beating continued until Richard's screams faded into hoarse, broken whimpers and then into silence altogether. His body lay half dead on the floor, his back laid open in a dozen bleeding welts, his voice completely gone.Uncle Gerald and the other elders who had supported the coup watched the entire spectacle with mounting, suffocating terror. Every one of them understood that the old man's fury could turn on them next with a single gla

Doctor James's face lit up with desperate, overwhelming joy. He kowtowed three full times, slamming his forehead against the marble hard enough to leave a red mark.Ethan pushed the silver bank card back across the table toward Victor."I cannot accept this," Ethan said. His expression carried genuine discomfort. The scale of the gift was far beyond what he considered appropriate, and something about the Harlow family's eagerness to shower him with wealth made a quiet alarm ring in the back of his mind.Victoria moved before anyone else could react. She snatched the card off the table and pressed it firmly into his palm, wrapping his fingers around it with both of her hands.She leaned close to him, her voice dropping to something soft and warm."Stay and help me run Harlow Pharmaceuticals," Victoria whispered. Her dark eyes were wide and imploring, shining under the chandelier light.She clung to his arm and rocked it gently back and forth, her fierce, untouchable composure completel

Dead silence held the room for exactly three seconds. Then the entire hall erupted at once."He has completely lost his mind," a branch family member shouted."Eight hundred million at a single conference," another gasped. "The man is insane."Victoria's eyes went wide with alarm. She tried to catch Ethan's attention from across the table, shaking her head rapidly and mouthing the word no with increasing desperation. Her hand signals grew frantic enough that Mrs. Hayes had to gently push her arm down before the entire room noticed.Even Victor felt a flicker of cold disdain pass through his chest. He was beginning to suspect that Ethan had no idea what the Crimson Phoenix Ring actually represented. Perhaps the old man had terrified himself over nothing, kneeling before a stranger who simply happened to inherit a piece of jewelry he did not understand.Ronald was delighted. His face split into a wide, radiant grin and he laughed until tears streamed freely down his cheeks."Eight hundr

Ethan was quiet for a long moment, staring out the window at the city waking up around them."Thank you," Ethan said to Victoria. His voice was low and sincere, carrying a warmth he rarely showed.Victoria looked at him and managed a tired, small smile."Take me to Mr. Thompson Sr.," Ethan said. "I have a way to make the old man cooperate."Mrs. Hayes nearly hit the brakes."Thompson refused to even see Victoria yesterday," Mrs. Hayes protested. "His steward turned us away at the gate without a second glance.""He will see me," Ethan said. His tone left no room for argument.He turned to Victoria."After today, every major pharmaceutical company in Chicago will be begging to work with you," Ethan said.Victoria's exhausted face brightened with sudden, fierce hope. Her dark eyes searched his for any trace of doubt and found none.Mrs. Hayes opened her mouth to argue further, then closed it. She said nothing more and floored the accelerator.Across the city, at the Thompson family resid