Deanna heard the warning and had to suppress her curiosity, sitting quietly with her eyes downcast.
Gunner, seeing this, said nothing further. He turned his cold gaze to Brice and mocked, "You think I would ruin the Martinez family in retaliation for you? What makes you think you deserve it?"
Brice's face turned red with anger, a malicious glint flashing in his eyes as he clenched his fists tightly. Gunner ignored his restraint and continued to taunt him.
"Also, stop bringing up Grandfather. Since I have agreed to take over the Martinez family, I won't harm the family."
"Uncle Gunner, don't be so sure of yourself," Craig couldn't help but voice his doubts.
Gunner's already expressionless face grew colder. "Oh? What have I done that makes you think I'm harming the Mercer family?"
"Uncle Gunner, if you truly care about the Martinez family, you shouldn't hand it over to a woman who has no blood relation to us. She has no right to inherit everything from the Martinez family," Craig protested, pointing at Deanna.
Deanna felt like rolling her eyes and mocking him. The Martinez family might be tempting to others, but to her, it was just a burden. If not for her master's wish for her to take over, she wouldn't want to trouble herself with it at all.
Gunner didn't know Deanna's thoughts. He sneered at Craig's words. "To you, Deanna might be an outsider, but to me, she's my personal disciple, someone who will take care of me in my old age. She's no different from my own children. If she isn't qualified, then who is?"
"Of course, while I may not be your direct descendant, I am the eldest son of our branch. My father knew you would never have children and planned to adopt me as your heir. He has been grooming me as the successor for years. As long as you agree, I will be your son and take care of you in your old age," Craig said sincerely.
Gunner laughed angrily. "Your branch has always been calculating. Brice, do I need to remind you that I don't lack children? Stop your scheming; no one here is a fool."
Brice and his son were left speechless again. Deanna listened in shock. Her master couldn't have children? No wonder he had said he would never marry.
She looked at the main branch of the Martinez family with hostility. From their conversation, it was clear that her master's inability to have children was related to them.
Craig noticed Deanna's hostile gaze and misunderstood it as her showing off. Anger surged within him. Suddenly, he thought of the Martinez family's ancestral rules.
"Uncle Gunner, if you insist on this woman inheriting the family head position, then I want to challenge her!" He quickly added, "The twelfth ancestral rule clearly states that every member of the Martinez family has one chance to challenge the prospective head. You wouldn't go against the ancestral rules, would you?"
Gunner looked at the suddenly smug man with a frown, a flash of killing intent in his eyes. He could see that the main branch was obsessed with the head position and might break their past vows and act secretly. He needed a way to deal with them once and for all.
Keeping his thoughts hidden, Gunner turned to Deanna and asked, "What do you say? Do you accept the challenge?"
"I'll follow my master's decision," Deanna replied confidently, then added, "But if we are to compete, I want to add some stakes to make it more interesting."
Gunner squinted slightly, understanding his disciple's intention. It aligned with some of his own thoughts-truly worthy of being his disciple.
"Fine, if you insist on competing, let's add some stakes," Gunner said with an inscrutable smile at Craig.
Craig felt a bit uneasy and didn't want to agree. But before he could refuse, his father's voice interrupted.
"Alright, what stakes do you want to add?" Brice asked eagerly.
"Father?" Craig interrupted disapprovingly.
Brice raised a hand to stop him and looked intently at Gunner. "We agree to add stakes. What do you propose?"
Gunner looked at Deanna without speaking, signaling that since she proposed it, she should decide.
Deanna frowned in thought. She had an idea but hadn't decided on specific conditions yet. After a moment, she finally spoke.
"If I win, your entire branch must move out of the Martinez family estate. If I lose, my master will leave the Martinez family."