Chace knew he had to carefully consider the costs he would have to bear.
However, his plans were disrupted as Lance gave him no breathing room. With Alonso's arrest, it seemed like a signal had been sent. The once resilient Explority Group faced numerous substantial accusations.
In just one day, all of Explority Group's assets were frozen, and Chace, as the company's legal representative, found himself in police custody the next day.
Once inside, Chace couldn't understand how he ended up in such a predicament. He was unwilling to accept it and wanted to appeal.
But all his visible assets were frozen. Even so, he didn't give up and tried every means to contact Lance.
Lance was aware of his actions and intentions but chose to ignore them. After all, everyone must pay for their arrogance and mistakes.
Meanwhile, Deanna spent her days caring for Lance in the hospital and video chatting with her grandmother at night, enjoying a peaceful life.
Under her care, Lance's health improved day by day.
Lance had been discharged from the hospital and was recuperating at his villa in New York. Since he couldn't return home soon, besides handling daily company affairs, he also took on the task of teaching the two little ones.
As a result, they admired him even more, and their interactions increasingly resembled those of a family.
One day, Xavier returned to report to Lance after handling matters back home. "Mr. Mercer, Explority Group has declared bankruptcy.
Chace's privately transferred assets have been exposed. We acquired seventy percent of Explority Group's real estate, while the remaining thirty percent was divided among three other families."
"I see. What about Chace and Alonso's sentences?" Lance asked coldly, clearly concerned about this matter.
Xavier replied, "Chace was sentenced to fifty years for tax evasion and various other crimes. As for Alonso, he received a life sentence for two counts of attempted murder with solid evidence."
After speaking, Xavier seemed to remember something and took out a bank card from his briefcase, handing it respectfully to Lance.
"What is this?" Lance raised an eyebrow.
Xavier explained, "This is the ransom money from that hitman organization."
Hearing this, Lance took the bank card and put it away. Xavier then reported some additional work before leaving.
Soon, only Lance remained in the study. He began processing documents that had piled up during his recovery period. This resulted in a significant backlog of work for him.
After some time had passed, Lance suddenly heard laughter coming from downstairs. He paused for a moment and instinctively walked to the window. Below in the garden, Deanna was playing a game of Eagle Catching Chicks with the two little ones.
Deanna played the chick, Gregory was the mother hen, and Chloe was the eagle. Chloe kept trying to catch Deanna but was always blocked by Gregory at the last moment.
Under the sunlight, the bright smiles of the mother and children eased much of Lance's gloom caused by Explority Group's downfall.
At that moment, Chloe spotted Lance standing on the balcony and waved excitedly, shouting, "Uncle! Come down and play with us!"
Faced with such an invitation, Lance naturally couldn't refuse. Soon enough, he joined the game as the eagle. Deanna switched roles from chick to mother hen, protecting the two little ones from being caught by the eagle.
No matter how hard she tried to dodge, her chicks were always caught by the eagle eventually.
The two little ones were not enjoying the game much because of this.
"Mommy is so clumsy; Uncle tricks her every time," Chloe said anxiously.
Gregory didn't say anything but his eyes betrayed his disappointment.
Seeing this, Deanna felt both amused and frustrated but also determined not to give up easily. "Let's go again; I don't believe I can't win," she declared.
Seeing her strong fighting spirit, Lance smiled indulgently before continuing to play with them.
As expected, they lost again.
The two little ones were very disappointed.
They looked at their panting mommy and then at their calm uncle before coming up with an idea.
"Mommy, why don't you be the eagle? Let Uncle protect us."
"I can do it; what about you?" Lance asked Deanna with a smile.
For some reason, Deanna felt challenged by his gaze and agreed without hesitation.
Soon another round began.
Deanna feinted before lunging towards the two little ones.
They screamed in fright, "Uncle! Protect us! The eagle is coming!"
Lance spread his arms to shield them from Deanna's first attack.
And so it continued.
Seeing this pattern repeat itself made the two little ones smug as they hid behind Lance while taunting Deanna.
"Mommy is so clumsy; she can't catch us."