The guests gathered around the banquet wore different expressions, their thoughts already stirring with speculation. However, none of them made any rash decisions. Instead, they pricked up their ears, quietly waiting for the situation to unfold further.
Logan quickly snapped back to his senses.
His head whipped around toward Sera, who was sitting slightly behind him with her head lowered, making it impossible to read her expression.
But that didn’t matter, he already knew. That wretched woman must have said something to Alex that she shouldn’t have. She was trying to bring ruin upon the Kleinberg Family.
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Logan clenched his fists under the table, his nails digging into his palms. He knew better than anyone how he had treated Sera over the years since her parents passed away.
To say it was "not good" would be an understatement, it had been downright terrible. If it weren’t for her grandfather aka his father’s protection, she wouldn’t have survived this long.
After planning the deaths of her parents, Logan had understood all too well the necessity of eliminating loose ends.
However, his father had kept a watchful eye on him, his warnings both direct and subtle. As long as his old man was alive, Logan didn’t go too far.
But now, his father is gone. And Sera had found herself a powerful backer, Alex.
Logan had no choice but to abandon any thoughts of dealing with her. He had to tread carefully now.
Yet what he hadn’t expected was for this woman, after clinging to Alex’s side, to not only refuse to help the Kleinberg Family but even whisper poison into his ear. She was actively working against them. Against him.
Panic gripped his chest like a vice.
"Alex, please don’t joke about this," Logan blurted out, his voice laced with desperation. His back was already damp with sweat. "Sera is still young. She speaks without thinking. She might not even realize what she’s saying is wrong. On behalf of the my Family, I swear to you, whatever happens from now on, we will follow your lead!"
Logan was truly terrified.
He had no idea what exactly that wretched woman had told Alex, but it was undoubtedly something detrimental to both himself and his Family. If her words had swayed Alex into making a move against them, then it was over.
The Kleinberg Family might hold dominance over the city, but in front of him, they were nothing.
Everyone in the city remembered the fate of the Winters family. One of the great families, the girl of that family, had made the mistake of offending him. Within a matter of days, their company had collapsed into bankruptcy, and their family had been utterly destroyed and many in Prison even now.
Yet Alex didn’t even spare Logan a glance. Or rather, he didn’t consider him worth acknowledging in the first place.
One of the remaining great families of the city? In his eyes, that wasn’t even worth mentioning.
"I’m full," Alex remarked casually, wiping his hands with a napkin. "Have you made up your mind?" Sera sat still, her fingers clutching the hem of her dress tightly.
Ten seconds passed. Then, with a barely perceptible movement, she nodded.
"…Yes." Alex pushed back his chair, ready to leave. But just as he was about to rise, a small hand tugged at his sleeve.
Sera’s grip was weak, trembling, yet filled with silent desperation. Her voice, soft yet pleading, reached his ears.
"…I need to change my clothes." Alex gave a slight nod. Enjoy exclusive chapters from Freewebnovel
With his silent permission, Sera lowered her head and quickly left. She kept her gaze down as she walked, trying not to draw attention to herself. But halfway to her destination, her phone vibrated with a message. Curious, she glanced at the screen and opened it.
The moment she read the contents, her face flushed bright red. "Per…!" she muttered under her breath, her grip on the phone tightening.
As soon as Sera left, Logan could no longer afford to maintain his composure. He didn’t care about the numerous guests watching, didn’t care about losing face in front of them. With a loud thud, he fell to his knees before Alex.
Desperation overrode his pride.
Logan was no fool. On the contrary, he was highly intelligent and ruthlessly decisive, otherwise, he wouldn’t have guts to kill his own younger brother the moment he realized his father favored his younger brother over him.
And from the brief exchange between Alex and Sera just now, Logan had pieced together enough to make a terrifying realization.
That wretched woman, Sera, had undoubtedly whispered something into Alex’s ear. Pillow talk. Sweet words. Perhaps something even more than words.
Whatever method she had used, she had somehow convinced him to move against the Kleinberg Family.
Logan’s teeth clenched so tightly his jaw ached.
He should have gotten rid of her back then. Sent her to reunite with her parents. Even if his father had been enraged afterward, so what?
That old bastard had already lost one son. In the end, Logan was his only heir. He wouldn’t have done anything too drastic.
A dark glint flickered in Logan’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
Lifting his head, he forced his expression to shift, his usual arrogance melting away into a look of pure desperation and devotion.
"Alex," he pleaded, his voice laced with urgency. "My Family still has value. We can be useful to you, immensely useful. You know how these things work. Sera is still young, too young to understand the brutal reality of family struggles. Surely, you can see that? Back then, I had no choice but to make that… regrettable decision. It was a matter of survival. But since then, I have treated Sera as if she were my own flesh and blood! I have cared for her as if she were my own daughter!"
The sheer hypocrisy of his words was laughable.
Yet he spoke them with such conviction that, to an outsider, they might have sounded almost believable.