Semua Bab Life After Prison: Bab 271 - Bab 280

As soon as Claude and the others left, Zachariah and several of the Ballards' elders fell silent in the room.After some time had passed, a middle-aged woman said to Zachariah, "Sir, I think Claude has a point. We need to be wary of Draco Hall!"Zachariah nodded. "Indeed, we do, but I'm afraid that we shouldn't mess with Draco Hall. If Brookbourn Mansion joins hands with underground forces like the Emerald Cloud Gang in dealing with Draco Hall, our reputation and image would be tarnished if word gets out! Moreover, Draco Hall did not commence any further action after absorbing the Cedar Gang."The middle-aged woman thought over Zachariah's words and said, "Sir, the upper-class families hand over ten percent of their income to us every year, don't they? How about we raise that by double? The councils in other cities mostly request a twenty percent contribution from the upper-class families, and this makes us seem a little too merciful.""I agree, sir! We might have a wealth of funds

It was due to Zachariah's old age—leading to his weak physical condition and waning fertility—that he doted on Sheila even more. It therefore came as a huge surprise to Sheila that her father would even consider marrying her off to a family in Riverson.Zachariah said, "Riverson is a big place, with an area that is more than twice as large as Brookbourn. The grass there is greener, and their first-tier families are even stronger than Brookbourn Mansion. Your life will forever be free of worry if you could get married to a family there." After a brief pause, he added, "And that's not considered far by most standards. Riverson is only an hour or two away from here by car, and we also have lots of properties and villas there. If you move there, you can come back to visit me any time. More importantly, our assets will be better utilized and developed if you marry there!"Sheila smiled coldly. "What do you mean by that, Dad? Are you using my marriage as a means to bring you more benefits?

"I'm sorry, honey. A big chunk of the responsibility falls on me for what happened that night, because I slept with you knowing that I might be apprehended the next day after smashing the bottle over Easton's head. I didn't think you'd pregnant after that, and I never thought that it'd bring you so much pain and suffering!" Severin held Diane's hand, and said sincerely, "Don't worry. I'll try my best to make it up to you!"Diane smiled and said, "I still hated you when you were released, but everything that happened in the past few days has shown me that you're a good person, while Lucy and Easton are anything but. Perhaps this is what they call fate."Severin digested her words and asked again, "Do you still blame me now?"Diane shook her head. "I don't blame you anymore, because you've proven yourself as a good father and a good husband. I can see that you're a capable and responsible man instead of a useless good-for-nothing. I'm very satisfied with that!" After saying that, Dian

Severin knew that it would be unwise to rush things, especially since he was dealing with a cold and generally reserved woman like Diane.Before long, the two of them were lying on the bed, and Diane felt so nervous that she deliberately turned to sleep on her side so her back was facing Severin.When Severin saw her movement, he could not help but say, "Honey, can I hug you from behind while we sleep?""Okay," Diane replied softly, but she became increasingly nervous deep down.Soon, Severin's hand stretched out from behind to hug her waist. His firm chest was placed against her back, and her heart beat a lot faster than before. All sorts of wild thoughts began racing through her mind. The two of them spooned each other to sleep and soon drifted into a slumber.…The next morning, Selene went to Diane's room after freshening up, opened the door, and went in."Whoa! Dad's sleeping with Mom too! Ehehe!" She could not help but cover her mouth and giggle when she noticed the way he

Severin did not bother answering Stanley's question and said with a faint smile, "I didn't think you'd be up so early just to come here and help me with carrying my medical box.""I have to. I'm a proactive person, and I prefer to arrive early instead of letting others wait for me," Stanley said while patting his chest."Oh, alright then. I'll go in and get the medical box!" Severin smiled, then pretended to walk back.When he entered the house, he had a sly smile on his lips as he took out a small metal box from his storage ring. Then, he took out another seemingly small black iron piece and placed it in before covering it with some herbs.The black iron piece was very heavy despite its small size, and when the entire medicine box was lifted, the total weight was about 40 or 50 pounds. Severin grinned because he did not need to use any effort to carry such a huge box. However, it would be far too heavy for someone like Stanley.He casually walked out with the metal box and handed