Ch. 1571..1580

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1571-"Stop!"

Frank wheeled on Ilsa with a sharp glare, leaving Ilsa pale in fear.

He was clearly ready to hurt her daughter Ashley!

As such, she wheeled on Gina and snarled, "Look, Gina! Your son-in-law is hurting my daughter… I-I'll kill you!"

However, Gina was utterly confused too.

What the devil was Frank up to?! Was he so bent on turning her old classmates against her?!

"Frank!"

Feeling butterflies in her stomach, Helen was shooting Frank with looks to try to stop him as well.

While Frank certainly would not ignore her, he merely gave her an assurring nod before turning back to Ashley, who was still kept tied up in that body bag.

Pointing at his own face, he stared at Ashley's face as he asked, "Do you remember? You sold me a suit yesterday."

While Ashley appeared flustered, she slowly calmed down at Frank's words. "A-A suit?"

She stared blankly at Frank for a while before realization showed on her face, and she nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Mr. Lawrence, was it? I received you when you came to our boutique yesterday!"

She paused and looked around, not noticing her own mother in the crowd and only seeing unfamiliar faces in the confusion of her abduction.

As such, she pinned all her hopes on Frank, the only person with whom he had any interaction. "I don't know what happened, Mr. Lawrence, but someone suddenly knocked me out and brought me here! Please, you have to help me!" "Shush. Calm down."

Frank put a finger on his lips as everyone watched, and Ashley calmed down again, seeing that he was being agreeable.

Ilsa calmed down as well, since it seemed that Frank did not look like he would hurt Ashley and just wanted to talk.

That was when Frank smiled and asked, "So, how much did I pay you for that suit you sold me?"

"The suit?"

Ashley did a double take, and her expression became visibly uncomfortable.

She quickly turned away while forcing a smile. "Can't that wait, Mr. Lawrence? We can talk after you free me…" "No can do."

Frank smiled, shaking his head as his eyes flashed hostilely-only. Ashley could see that since Frank had his back to the crowd t belongs to en.FindNovel "I hope you will show honesty and respect when you answer my questions," Frank continued, "and then I'll free you."

Ashley's heart skipped a beat Frank's words, and she finally realized what was happening.

It was Frank who ordered her to be taken here against her will in a , and no average Joaret be capable of that! Even as he blinked, she obviously realized that her deceit had been exposed.

"So? Are you going to be honest now?" Frank growled just then.

It left Ashley flustered even as she looked around.

She knew her suits, and judging by the suits that most of the guests were wearing, they were all pretty important people.

It left her in a dilemma.

If she admitted to what she did, she would We admitting to swindling net Frank, and her family's boutique I suffer as a result.

On the other hand…

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1572-On the other hand, if Ashley decided to lie, she would have to suffer Frank's wrath.

And that meant…

Ashely flinched even as she saw the headless corpse in the distance talk about a terrifying precedent!

She threw all caution into the wind right then. The family business was important, but not as important as her life!

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lawrence!" she yelled as the crowd looked on. "I brought you the wrong suit-"

"Hmm? The wrong suit, you say?" Frank's eyes turned cool. "I told you to be honest, didn't I?"

Ashley flinched from Frank's looming presence and quickly corrected herself. "No, no, no… It was all me… I wanted to make a quick buck, so I brought you a cheap knock-off suit! It's all on me, and I regret my actions!" With that, she started begging panickedly, "I was blind and ignorant! Please, just let me go I'll return your money!"

Frank was relieved to hear that, and stood up, looking down at Ashley as he asked, "And how much did I pay you?"

"O-One million! That's how much you paid me… I'll wire it back to you right now! I'm so sorry, I deserve this…"

With that, Ashley burst into tears, leaving the crowd silent-especially Ilsa, who stood just outside the circle around Frank and his daughter.

She was staring blankly at Ashley, as it turned out the knockoff suit she mocked Frank for was sold by her own daughter.

Earlier, she was flustered, worried that Frank was going to kill her daughter, ready to rush up to fight Frank even if it meant dying.

Now, however, she was only profoundly worried that the crowd would realize that Ashley was her daughter.

After all, they were all there when Ilsa mocked Frank so harshly.

And now, her daughter was exposed for being the one who sold Frank that knock-off suit, which he only found out because Ilsa herself had openly exposed Frank.

Everyone would be laughing if word of this got out, and it was too late for Ilsa to run away now.

On the other hand, Gina was now at once lively.

She was scowling earlier, worried because she thought for a moment that Frank was going to hurt Ilsa's daughter. Now, she had certainly connected the dots!

After all, Frank had brought Ashley here in dramatic fashion to clear his name for Gina's benefit and to prove that he did not buy a knock-off suit just to embarrass Gina.

In fact, not only was he conned, but the culprit was Ilsa's daughter!

And to add insult to injury, it almost looked like Ilsa was conspiring with her der to stage this entire incident just to disparage Gina and Frank!

It was certainly not in Gina's nature to let something like that slide.

Springing to her feet right then, she seized Ilsa by the wrist, firmly pulling her through the crowd and shoving her to stand beside her daughter. "Mom?!"

Ashley was delighted to see Ilsa even though she was still caught in the body bag. "Mom! Help me, quick!" "What…"

Ilsa was utterly embarrassed, glancing between her daughter and Frank, with the latter looking at her in amusement.

"So she's your daughter too?" He chuckled. "Is that what your boutique does? Swindling customers for profit?"

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1573-Ilsa could not say a word despite Frank's gleeful reaction and bit her lip as she glared at her daughter Ashley, who was still left on the floor. She was utterly humiliated now and had no way to argue her case.

"W-What's going on here?"

Ashley was bewildered seeing the awkward look on her mother's face, even though she could not quite understand what was happening. "Hehe…"

Gina strode over just then, patting Ashely's head before sneering at Ilsa. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Dear girl, so you're the one who sold that knockoff suit to my son-in-law, and now your mother's being exposed!"

"Tut, tut… and your mother was even using that to mock us, calling my son-in-law a fraud who could only afford a cheap knock-off suit. Oh! You and your mother are just so amusing."

At that point, even Ashley understood in the end, Frank never realized that the suit was a knock-off until Ashley's own mother made a show of it.

A million dollars was lost just like that!

Though troubled, Ashley was certainly ready to blame her mother but could not say it out loud as so many watched.

All she could do was quietly bite the bullet, closing her eyes in pain.

Ilsa certainly shared her pain-she had just wanted to mock Frank for being too poor to afford an expensive suit, but it turned out that it was her own daughter who pulled the con. Talk about shooting herself in the foot! Not only did she fail to get anything out of this, but she was now the subject of scorn.

As she looked around, she saw many of the wedding guests pointing at them and laughing.

It was clear that her reputation was in tatters now.

However, even as she started to despair, her son Theo strode out.

"Lies!" he exclaimed, pointing and snapping at Frank. "I have no idea what's the connection between you and Trevor International, but you must answer for your crimes! Not only did you kidnap my sister from Zamri, but you're coercing her into lying for you!"

With a single outburst, he switched defense to attack as he accused Frank of staging the kidnapping and forcing his sister into testifying against her own family. Talk about devious!

"What?!"

Theo's barefaced lie left Frank stunned, and he raised a brow as he said quietly, "You're supposed to be a professor with two doctorates. Do I need to go through such lengths to insult you? Why don't you use your brains for once?"

"Hah! No, you wouldn't!"

Ilsa came to her senses as well and quickly built on his son's accusations by pointing at Gina. "It was definitely your despicable mother-in-law! It has to be her! Your entire family is a bunch of devious snakes!"

"What?! I'm despicable?!" Gina was left bristling. "Look who's talking, Ilsa!"

However, Frank had a foreboding feeling as he looked around.

The crowd was staring at him and Gina suspiciously, as they were opinionated against him for killing Jackie Xinder.

And with Theo misleading them, they were now blaming him for everything.

Hence, he quickly picked up Ashley and asked as everyone watched, "Have I ever coerced you?"

"I… I…" Ashley was at a loss for words.

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1574-"… …"

Ashley was at a loss for words as her brother and mother kept shooting her looks. She eventually closed her eyes and decided to lie. "Yes! The people who kidnapped me coerced me and told me to stick to the script…" "What?!"

Frank was incensed-how brazen could Ashley get?! To think she and her entire family could spout such bare-faced lies!

"See?!"

Theo promptly leapt up, yelling, "My sister was innocent! It's all Frank Lawrence's doing! He was conspiring with Gina, who wanted to slander our family and our business because of her long-standing feud with my mother!" "Slander?!"

Many wedding guests nodded in understanding when they heard the word that certainly made sense.

"What…"

At the same time, Gina finally understood how one could never win against the mob.

Even as she turned to shoot a pleading look at her daughter, Helen was already being targeted too.

"Tut, tut… I guess Lanecorp must be behind this! They intend to harass the Whitesons' business and tarnish their reputation…" "Despicable!"

"Yeah. Helen Lane may be a beauty on the outside, but she's venomous on the inside. Never judge a book by its appearance!" "Let's just stay away from Lanecorp from now on!"

"Yeah, exactly…"

Helen was left flustered by the buzzing crowd.

She was not worried about her personal reputation, because she prioritized Lanecorp's reputation over it.

But given this situation, Lanecorp would suffer a blow to its reputation.

And like any other company and organization, reputation matters most. Not only would losing it reduce the company's growth potential, it would lose the partners they needed for any form of development.

Worst of all, closure was inevitable in the absence of partners.

On the other hand, Frank's rage flared inwardly as he saw the crowd once again turning their scorn on Helen and the helpless look on her face.

He glowered as he took one step forward, which left Ashley flinching and struggling to get away from him.

Theo promptly seized the opportunity to add insult to injury "Watch out! He's upset now that I've exposed him-he would start getting violent at any moment!"

The wedding guests all took a step back at his warning, staring at Frank warily.

In the distance, Timothy bellowed, "Don't panic, everyone! That prick won't get what he wants as long as I'm here! No one gets to spill blood under my watch!"

At his order, over a dozen security guards surrounded Frank!

"Hehehe…"

Seeing that, Ilsa-who was just terrified a moment ago-turned toward her son with a look of pride.

She really owed her son here. Thanks to his silver tongue, he managed to turn the tables in an instant!

Their eyes met, and they shared a smug smile right then-there was no chance for Gina and her family to turn things around now!

And just as Isa expected, Eddie was glowering as he barked at his family's security guards, "Go! Throw Gina Zonda, Helen Lane, and everyone related to them outof my wedding!"

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1575-"Yes, sir!"

Just as the security guards strode up, ready to get violent against Helen, Gina, and Frank, the latter suddenly laughed out loud, leaving everyone present stunned. "Why is he laughing? Could he have snapped from the pressure?"

"Hmph! The way I see it, he was crazy in the first place, but he's exposed now."

"Poor Helen. She has the looks, but she ended up with a nutjob!"

"Hey, watch it. Don't just judge a book by its cover-Helen's more venomous than she looks!"

"True. Urgh, why can't beautiful women be more down-to-earth?"

The wedding guests' comments never stopped Frank from laughing, however, and Timothy finally realized that something was wrong.

Glaring furiously at Frank, he thumped his cane on the floor and barked, "What are you laughing at, brat?!"

"Who, me?"

Frank finally stopped laughing as he slowly looked up at Timothy and everyone else and grinned. "I'm just laughing at myself." "Laughing at yourself?"

While everyone else was dumbstruck, Theo started clapping. "Well done! You've finally realized that you're a clown, huh?"

Ilsa laughed coolly beside him. "Hmph. More like Gina's whole family are clowns."

Gina was seething as she listened to all the mockery but was unable to argue.

She turned toward her daughter, only to find Helen looking worriedly at Frank and asking, "Are you alright, Frank?"

Frank waved her off to gesture that he was fine. "I just remembered something funny, Helen. I was being stupid why should I try so hard to prove that I was telling the truth?"

"Eh?" Helen was left stupefied but soon had a foreboding feeling. "Frank, are you going to—"

Frank waved her off dismissively, chuckling. "Don't worry, Helen. I have no intention of getting violent."

To further reassure her, Frank whipped out his phone and dialed a number.

Turning to Ashley, who was still restrained and left on the floor, he asked, "You said your boutique is a subsidiary of Pearce Group, right? And the owner is Gene Pearce, the richest man on the east coast?"

Ashley was confused but nodded blankly.

QUMS "Well, that makes things simple."

Frank smiled faintly. "Since you're et basically working for Gene's company, you're all going to pay for Your lies."

Frank's call was soon answered, and Gene spoke from the other end. "Frank, my brother! What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, Gene…" Frank chuckled.

"Gene…?"

Everyone around him was stunned-did Frank just call Gene Pearce?!

Impossible! Some average Joe calling on a big-shot like Gene on a whim?

"Pfft…"

Just as everyone was left stunned and unsure what to say, Theo stepped forward again.

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1576-Theo folded his arms before his chest and shot Frank a look of disdain. "I know you're doing your best to keep up appearances, but now you're just insulting our intelligence."

Noticing that the wedding guests were all looking at him just then, he continued confidently, "Everyone, why don't you consider who Gene Pearce is? He's the richest man on the east coast! And his company, Pearce Group, has countless smaller businesses and enterprises under its name!

"Even my father's high-end boutique and Pearson Group where I work is basically owned by Gene Pearce! Considering how important he is, would he be reachable by a simple phone call?! Do you think we're as stupid as you are, brat?!"

Nonetheless, Frank had turned on the speaker on his phone, allowing Gene to hear everything Theo had just said.

"Frank, who's that talking over there?" he asked, his tone at once sinister.

"Hehe. Just some blind fool-"

Before Frank could finish, Theo smirked at him and strode over, snatching his phone off his hands as he snapped over the phone, "Hey, so you're Gene Pearce, the richest man on the east coast?" Theo's blunt question left Gene annoyed. "I am. Who are you?"

"Tut, tut… So you're really keeping this up?"

The contempt on Theo's face became even more clear as Gene said yes, and he shrugged dramatically at the wedding guests around him, leaving most of them hiding a smile.

After all, they were all positive that Gene was too important to be reached by a simple phone call.

Even Ilsa was leveling Gina a mocking smile. "Oh, Gina… Your son-in-law is the real deal! How scary, reaching Gene Pearce with just a phone call!"

Gina pursed her lips in silence, but her clenched knuckles were a clear sign of how she felt.

What was Frank doing?! Had he not embarrassed her enough?!

However, while Gina had no idea that it was the real Gene on the phone, Helen did.

Seeing that Theo was being really rude toward Gene, she quickly reasoned, "Mr. Whiteson, you really should stop, because it's—" "Tut, tut…"

итал Theo grinned and pointed at Helen as he laughed, shaking his head. "Just look at this, everyone! What an amazing couple act, getting into character so tacitly! You really disappoint me, Helen Lane-l thought you were smart and successful, only for you to play along with this prick's crude acting. How embarrassing."

While Theo's mocking drew another chorus of laughter from the crowd, Gene snapped furiously over Frank's phone again. "Who ove én FindNovel "Who am I?"

Theo leered at Frank with a provoking smile. "I am Theo Whiteson, deputy CEO of Pearson Group! If you really are Gene Pearce, you'd remember my father Monrad Whiteson… Oh, wait, you wouldn't because you're just impersonating the man!"

"Ahahaha… If you're Gene Pearce, then I'm Gene Pearce's daddy!"

Despite the crowd's laughter of utter contempt, Frank watched as Theo continued his clownlike antics and suddenly started clapping.

And there was no other emotion other than joy in his laugh. "Congratulations, Mr. Whiteson."

On the other hand, Theo glanced at the phone for a moment before throwing it back to Frank, smirking in contempt.

"Congratulations? For what? Wait, don't tell me for exposing your lies?"

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1577-Theo snorted. "Oh, please. Anyone with a working brain can see through your stupid act already. There's no need to congratulate me."

Frank, however, simply kept smiling. "No, I'm congratulating you for something else entirely."

"Something else?"

Even before Theo could understand what Frank was talking about, his mother's phone started ringing.

While Ilsa was still sneering in contempt as she picked up, her face turned pale in an instant.

Her cheeks were drained of all color as if she had just fallen from heaven to hell, while her phone slipped from her fingers and dropped on the floor with a thud.

And over the phone, a man was roaring furiously, "You bitch! I'll kill you! I'll kill every last one of you!!!"

The people around could more or less hear him, even though Ilsa never turned on her phone's speaker.

"What?"

It was not just those around Ilsa either-Gina, Theo and everyone else could see Ilsa's blank expression.

Only Frank was smiling and shaking his head. "Huh. That's quicker than I thought… I guess he's really furious this time."

Theo looked at him in confusion when his phone started ringing too.

The screen showed that it was a call from his father Monrad Whiteson, so he answered, "Hello?"

"You bastard!" Monrad was screaming at once. "What the hell did you say to Mr. Gene Pearce?! He's threatening to kill us all! It's you and your mother's fault, isn't it?! Stop involving me in your problems!"

"What?!"

While Theo was stunned that his own father was howling at him in rage and despair, Frank kindly turned on the speakers for Theo so that everyone could hear Monrad.

"I'm warning you, Theo!" Monrad was still ranting just then. "I don't care who you upset or how you insulted Mr. Pearce-you will call Mr. Pearce right now and beg for mercy on your knees!" "Fucking het… You just killed your own family, do you understand?! was planning on living a couple of years more, so why the fuck would you insult Mr. Pearce out of the blue?!"

The mansion courtyard was at once silent as Monrad kept yelling over the phone in rage and fear.

"H-How…?"

Even Timothy Clarke and his family had presumed that Frank's call was just an act, and their minds were thus blown from Monrad's call. "That phone call… It's real…"

Eddie Clarke, the bridegroom, gulped as he stared at Frank in disbelief.

"It really is Gene Pearce…"

Timothy was ashen-faced too, feeling his blood rushing up his brain while the world started to spin around him. "If he can call Gene directly… Then he must be Gene's equal, and that means…"Timothy's breathing turned rushed even as he remembered everything that happened and started to shake uncontrollably. "Hehe… Calm down, Mr. Whiteson."

Frank was the only one who was still smiling, and he even walked over to clap Theo on the shoulder.

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1578-Frank winked at Theo even as he chuckled, "Actually, I called your father without you noticing earlier and threatened him into putting up an act with me. So, were you shocked or surprised?"

Theo could die right then, finally realizing why Frank was laughing the whole time, even clapping and congratulating him.

After all, he was congratulating him for sending his whole family to their deaths!

Judging from Gene's outburst earlier, he was not sparing a single person in his family.

"Ah…"

In the distance, Ilsa was the first to collapse on the floor, unconscious.

Seeing that, Theo quickly rushed over to resuscitate her and help her up.

Even as she stirred, she realized in shock that everything that happened to Gina was now happening to her-albeit a lot worse.

While they were not really working directly for Pearce Group, their family worked for one of their subsidiaries. As such, they would pay for their rudeness toward Gene just now.

"Oh, Theo… My son! It's all over for us!" Ilsa howled and bawled after she came to her senses.

It was only that she realized that Frank was way above them and never name-dropped his connections to argue with them because he felt pity for them.

However, they insisted on slandering and distorting the truth, leaving Frank no choice but to show his hand.

No, it would not be this bad if he only showed his hand-Theo had to mock Frank, claiming that his phone call to Gene was just an act and driving them past the point of no return. "No… No, Mom! It's not over yet!"

Theo's face was white as a sheet, but he rushed to Frank, dropping to his knees and begging, "Please, ME Lawrence! Could you please forgive me?! Just let me live, and I will serve you willingly! My parents have some savings, too… "Oh, right! It's my sister who swindled you into buying that knock-off suit! You don't have to hold back with her! And my mother… She and Madam Zonda have been at it for years, and she was the one who goaded me into stepping up against you! Please, Mr. Lawrence! Just let me live… I'll do anything!"

Around them, the guests all looked away-the unseemly manner in which Theo begged for his life was too much for them.

The smug returnee with double PhDs and a bright future ahead of him was now a spineless worm, crawling at Frank's feet and begging for mercy, even abandoning his sister and mother.

He was certainly the embodiment of humankind's wickedness-even Helen looked away in anger.

"How despicable…" Frank breathed as he watched Theo prostrate himself at his feet, a look that left him with indescribable disgust.

"Yes, yes, yes… I'm despicable, I really am…"

Theo remained unfettered, flashing a fawning smile and continued to beg Frank just to stay alive.

As everyone was left shocked by Frank's connections and Theo's despicable behavior, a cool voice spoke from the wedding hall.

"What's going on here? What's everyone doing out here? The wedding hasn't even started."

A young man with a cold visage strode out just then, and it was none other than Jaden Favoni, who had gotten impatient from waiting in the VIP room.

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1579-"Mr. Favoni!"

Timothy Clarke quickly went to greet Jaden when he stepped out, bowing his head respectfully. "Apologies, but there's been a little incident out here —but don't worry, we'll settle it soon enough…"

However, Jaden completely ignored Timothy and headed straight toward Frank, who stood in the center of the crowd.

He glanced at the prostrate Theo in confusion for a moment before bowing his head at Frank. "Master Lawrence, Stella and Chelly just called-they will soon return with your new suit."

"Huh? So soon?" Frank exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe. Of course, sir—we naturally have to do our best since your reputation is on the line."

The guests were all left petrified by that exchange between Frank and Jaden-the Clarkes were especially gaping on the spot.

"Master… Lawrence? Mr. Favoni, this man—"

"Hmph!"

Jaden snorted coldly despite Timothy's respectful attitude and growled hostilely, "I've just heard that your son was ready to throw out my mentor, saying that he has no right being here or something?"

"What?!"

Timothy was sweating buckets down his face at Jaden's outburst, almost suffering a heart attack right then.

Who on earth was Frank?!

Not only was he chummy with Gene Pearce, the richest man on the east coast, but he was also Jaden Favoni's mentor?

Timothy quickly turned toward his son Eddie, who had no choice but to strode up, bowing at Frank in apology. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Lawrence. I hope you can understand that I was tricked by some mook because of that misunderstanding about your suit and almost threw you out…"

Even as he spoke, Eddie was trembling all over, his brow's sweat trickling and dropping to the ground.

"As long as we have that cleared up." Frank simply shrugged.

Eddie sighed in relief, actually surprised that Frank was so magnanimous that he did not press the issue.

"However…"

Frank suddenly continued, and the Clarke's felt their hearts leaping up their throats as he smiled. "You're not going to need my blood to purify the wedding ceremony now,@ight?" Timothy could only smile miserably as he threw up his hands. "Oh, you're such a tease, Mr. Lawrence! I was just saying that as a joke… We don't have such a tradition!" "Good," Frank replied, just as a procession of Favoni cars drove into the mansion.

Stella and Chelly Favoni quickly alighted with an expensive suit and helped Frank get changed as everyone watched.

He certainly looked like a different man with that suit-where everyone was giving him the stink eye, the ladies were now staring at him with starry eyes.

Seeing that everyone including Timothy were busy bowing their heads as if awaiting his instructions, Frank could not help chuckling. "Come on. Is the wedding canceled or something?" "What? Right… Of course!"

Timothy came to his senses and promptly ushered Frank into the wedding hall.

"Please, Mr. Lawrence… Spare my life…"

Behind Frank, Theo was still begging endlessly, but no one seemed to care.

By the time Frank and everyone else were inside the wedding hall, only Theo, Ilsa, and Ashley were kept outside by the security guards. "Theo… Urgh."

Ilsa certainly had nothing to say and sat feebly on the ground in utter disappointment.

She simply could not understand!

The Girlboss Begs For Remarriage Chapter 1580-Helen was as beautiful as she was successful, but Gina had no right to a son-in-law with such horrific connections!

Even so, the whole thing started because Ilsa's greedy daughter Ashley wanted Frank's million dollars for herself and sold him a cheap knock-off suit.

In fact, the only one innocent person in their family was Monrad, throwing a hissy fit even as the rest of them dragged him into their mess. Ashley, who was untied, was left staring blankly as she sat beside Ilsa, murmuring to herself repeatedly, "I should've been honest and respectful to Mr. Lawrence… This wouldn't happen to us otherwise… I should've been honest and respectful to Mr. Lawrence…"

"Shut up!"

Theo almost snapped at his sister's chanting, springing to his feet as he bellowed, "I knew it! You're just going to blame me but who could have known that he was really a wolf in sheep's skin?! Why can't he just tell us directly that he's such a big deal?! He did it on purpose, just so that we'd look like clowns…"

Even as Theo buried his face in his palms and bawled hysterically, Ashley turned stiffly toward him, her lips pursing miserably, "Do you think it's possible that he didn't want to resort to name-dropping to bully us? That he really just wanted to be reasonable?"

Ilsa flinched at those words as she came to a realization too.

Frank had been persistently trying to be reasonable, but what did they do?

They persistently distorted the facts and forced Frank to call upon his connections, to fight fire with fire.

If they had just given in earlier and admitted to their mistake, they at least would not have provoked Gene, even if that meant suffering a blow to their reputation.

In hindsight, they had really brought this down upon themselves…

But even as despair overwhelmed them, a black Lincoln arrived at the mansion.

Over a dozen bodyguards in black suits and shades soon alighted.

"Take him," the bodyguard leader said quietly, after taking out a photo from his pocket and confirming Theo's face.

"No… wait! Where are you taking me?!"

Theo started to struggle violently and even turned to run. "No… I'm not going out like this!!!"

Bang!

However, he had barely made a few feet when one of the bodyguards whipped out his handgun and shot him in the leg. "Argh!!!"

Theo screamed in pain as he collapsed on the ground, after which the bodyguards carried him away.

"Wait, what…?" Isla and Ashley were staring as everything unfolded in surprise, confused because the bodyguards only took Theo and not them. "Mr. Lawrence was very clear. He will spare your lives out of respect for Madam Zonda," the bodyguard leader said as he put away his handgun and pointed at Ashley "As for you… you'd better return Mr. Lawrence's money soon or else!" And while that, the black Lincoln sped off, taking Theo's screams with it.

Ilsa Wa Diankly as her son was renken away, all her life draining out of her as she collapsed on her rear. swno Beside her, Ashley was smiling miserably. "Mom, it seems that we're really nothing to Mr. Lawrence…"