Chapter 1616:
Despite his exhaustive travels, he returned only to be greeted with punishment. Corrine couldn’t help but laugh at his plight. “Well, go on, tell me what happened.”
“All my efforts for you, and here you are, enjoying my troubles rather than defending me!” Waldo shot her a disgruntled look. He leaned back, eyeing Carl on the sofa and lowering his voice. “Aren’t you curious about the talk between Evelyn and Carl at the engagement celebration that day?”
Carl’s stern command cut him off. “Stand properly and reflect on yourself!”
Waldo straightened up immediately, his posture becoming rigid. “Hurry up and get inside. This is my time for self-reflection, so don’t interrupt me.” Corrine remained quiet.
Inside, Carl sat on the sofa, perusing the guest list. Spotting Corrine, he set the list down and removed his glasses. “I noticed you’ve included several families from Pinetree City on the guest list.”
Leland handed Corrine a coffee.
She placed the cup aside and explained calmly, “With the recent governmental reorganization of city districts, there’s been some unrest in Pinetree City. They’re reluctant to involve Lyhaton’s major families in their affairs and have resorted to covert actions. This has caused the Seymour and Brooks families to miss out on several important land deals.”
A cryptic sparkle danced in Carl’s eyes. “And so?”
His voice was deep and steady, betraying no emotion, leaving his intentions unreadable.
Corrine spoke with measured calm, her tone steady and deliberate. “If you look back, the friction between Pinetree City and Lyhaton began with the earliest territorial splits. As the years passed, and the Ford family, along with the other three powerful families, began to rise, Pinetree City steadily declined. That is why they are so determined to keep the four major Lyhaton families out of their affairs.”
1@Ŧ€$† ¢#4₽Ŧ€®$ 1₦ gąℓnovels.cøm
The situation was simple enough—limited market, unlimited ambition. Greed knew no boundaries.
The major families in Pinetree City feared that if the Ford family began to dip into their city’s market, the Fords’ influence would soon stretch across it. Once that foothold was established, it would only be a matter of time before the balance of power shifted—threatening everyone else’s status.
Even the smallest move from the Ford family, or any of Lyhaton’s major houses, into Pinetree City’s domain was met with immediate resistance—an unspoken pact to push them back.
“You are planning to expand into Pinetree City,” Carl said.
His tone was relaxed, but the certainty behind his words left no room for denial.
Corrine held his gaze, her eyes direct and unwavering. She gave a solemn nod. “Decades ago, Pinetree City and Lyhaton were one. The split came only because they chose different paths of development. That was the reason the Ford family withdrew their business from Pinetree City in the first place…”
Carl, settled deep into the sofa, observed her closely.
She spoke in the plainest terms, yet ambition glimmered behind her composed expression.
It was written all over her—the quiet fire in her eyes, the barely veiled hunger. Her gaze practically declared: The Ford family would not stop at Lyhaton. They would dominate the entire nation.
That spark reminded Carl of someone—Kiley.
.
.
.