Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Alberto greeted me. "So you're not dead after all, Ms. Lacey."

Alberto was quite sensible, so I turned directly to Killian.

I wanted to see what he would do.

Killian hadn't expected me to show up, and after hearing what I just said, he trembled as he pointed at me and told his men, "Keep going!"

"The seal in Elvira's hand is fake. She's here to confuse you. She's already dead!"

Looks like I was right - Killian had gone completely crazy. He had no idea what he was saying anymore.

I waved the seal in my hand again.

The men around him hesitated, because when Killian showed up this time, he wasn't alone - he'd brought some of the family's old guards with him.

Killian obviously knew the seal in my hand was real, and those old guards understood that too.

So when Killian gave the order, the old guards looked at each other, until finally one of them lowered his gun first.

"No, what Ms. Lacey is holding is definitely the family seal."

"Ms. Lacey is our family's rightful and only heir."

"We all thought she was dead before, and we thought that will was real, so we followed you. But now that Ms. Lacey has returned, we have no reason to follow you anymore."

The old guards stopped firing one after another, and I looked at them with relief.

Then I publicly announced all of Killian's crimes.

Everything from the scheme he used back then to kill my father and seize family power, to what he'd done to the company recently, and the assets that went missing years ago.

During this time, Sebastian and I had never stopped investigating.

But when I said these things, I saw the expressions change on some people's faces.

Clearly, they still didn't know who to listen to, and from their faces, I could see their trust in and loyalty to Killian.

When we were finalizing this plan, Virio had told me that doing this could split the entire family apart.

But I'd been focused only on revenge and seizing power.

Now, seeing their expressions, I realized Virio was right.

Sure enough, after I announced Killian's crimes, some people at the scene tried to oppose me.

Either way, I had no intention of taking revenge on my uncle personally in front of everyone.

And so the entire family split apart, and Killian was sent to the hospital by others.

When I learned about this, I just told Virio to have someone watch him personally.

But actually, I'd stopped caring whether he lived or died. It didn't matter to me where he died. Next, I needed to reorganize the entire Lacey family and stop them from splitting apart.

In other words, even if Killian lived, the entire family wouldn't waver because of his existence.

This was my ambition, but I also knew putting it into practice would definitely bring many troubles, and Killian would certainly try to make a comeback.

However, things changed quickly.

When Killian was being sent to the hospital, news suddenly came from the road.

"Camorra's people took him."

After seeing me return, they actually took Killian away in public. I didn't understand what they were trying to do.

Virio looked at me and gently put his arm around my shoulder. "I'm guessing that when Alberto was at the scene, he already had his own plans. So after learning Killian was being sent to the hospital, he was already thinking about what to do."

"What do you think he'll do next? Will he negotiate with me?"

I'd publicly announced Killian's crimes and also said that Killian had killed my father.

Under these circumstances, I didn't think Alberto would be stupid enough to think I'd hand over my things for an enemy who killed my father.

From start to finish, what Alberto wanted was the Lacey family's control over the port.

But in fact, Alberto was indeed planning this. Within an hour, I received his call.

He was using Killian as leverage, demanding I hand over control of the port.

"This is your uncle after all, and the entire family has already split apart. If you don't save him now, I imagine you won't be able to win everyone over, right?" His voice on the phone was undisguised, revealing a hint of smugness.

I silently clenched my fingers, looking at the phone in front of me, not responding for a moment. Virio and Luca were both beside me, and my phone was on speaker.

I looked up at them. Actually, I didn't know what to decide.

That was my father's killer, after all.

But Alberto was using this to threaten me, which meant he knew this was indeed a major bargaining chip for him.

If I didn't exchange for Killian, what would Alberto and Camorra do next?

My hand gripped my palm. "What do you think I'll choose?"

"I'm guessing you'll negotiate with me and try to convince me to let Killian go, but you won't give me control of the port."

Hearing Alberto's words, I couldn't help but laugh. "But you sound so confident, like you think I'll definitely exchange for him."

"That's your uncle after all, and the future of the entire Lacey family is in your hands, so I think you and I both need to think carefully."

He gave me an afternoon to think about it, saying he'd call again the next day to ask my decision. After hanging up, the living room fell into silence.

Everyone looked at me, as if wanting to know what I would choose.

I was silent for a while before speaking. "I've decided to negotiate with him."

"Do you know how dangerous this is? If he's doing this, it means he's already thought of a plan."

I nodded. "Of course, I know how dangerous it is, but I have to negotiate in person. But for this, we need to prepare on two fronts."

Saying we'd prepare on two fronts, it was really just a double trap for Alberto. I told Virio and Luca my idea.

"First, Alberto also knows that for the sake of the entire Lacey family, I can't completely abandon Killian. That wouldn't help family unity or help me take back power. Over these years, Killian has built up his own forces. Too many people in the family believe in him. If I'm too reckless, there might still be his followers later."

"Second, if I show up, they'll have no reason to target me anymore. Besides, from start to finish, what Alberto wanted was control of the port. If I don't give him a reason and a chance to negotiate, he'll keep trying."

Therefore, this negotiation was also a breakthrough for me.