Under the bright sunlight, the vast horse farm was covered in lush green grass.
Lance walked leisurely with Deanna along the edge, creating an indescribably warm scene.
From a distance, the two little ones couldn't help but take out their mommy's phone and snap a photo of the pair, which they promptly posted on Facebook.
Almost immediately after the post went up, Julia's message came through.
"Are you on a horseback riding date with Mr. Mercer?"
"Godmother, we're here too," Gregory replied to Julia with the phone.
Julia responded, "You went horseback riding and didn't tell me? That's so unfair!"
The two little ones felt embarrassed upon seeing this message.
They quickly reassured Godmother that they would invite her next time.
At the same time, Bella also received the news that Lance had taken Deanna and the two children horseback riding. Enraged, she destroyed everything in a room.
Since the scandal broke out last time, she hadn't left the house.
Firstly, her health didn't allow it; secondly, she didn't want to face people's judgmental stares.
Despite this, she kept tabs on Lance and Deanna's situation.
After suffering such a huge loss last time, she wouldn't let it go easily.
She wanted Deanna dead and Lance to suffer endlessly!
With this thought, her eyes turned bloodshot as she walked out of her room to find Kelly. She directly extended her hand and demanded, "Give me five million dollars."
"What do you need so much money for?" Kelly asked in confusion.
Bella gritted her teeth and said, "Just give me the money and don't ask so many questions!"
Hearing this, Kelly frowned and refused, "No way. Five million is not a small amount. You must tell me what you need it for. If it's not important, I can't give it to you. Your father's company has been losing money; we need to save what we have."
Seeing that her mother wouldn't give her money without an explanation, Bella was infuriated but helpless.
Since the incident, although her father sympathized with her plight, he was also angry at her rash decisions and had frozen all her bank accounts.
She could only get money from her mother if she wanted to hire someone to kill Deanna.
"I want Deanna dead! I want Lance to suffer for the rest of his life!" Bella said viciously.
Just as she finished speaking, Jeffery's furious voice rang out, "I think you want our whole family finished!"
"Dad..." Bella looked at her father storming in angrily from outside and shrank back in fear.
Jeffery glared at her furiously. "The previous troubles haven't been resolved yet, and now you want to stir up more trouble. Do you know that you've almost ruined our company?"
"That's impossible!" Bella retorted in disbelief.
Jeffery snorted coldly. "How is it impossible? If you keep acting like this, I won't even be able to keep the Cody family's ancestral property!"
After saying this, he sat down on the sofa with a livid face.
Kelly quickly gave their daughter a look before walking over to her husband. She asked with concern, "What happened? Did something go wrong?"
"Lance truly is Logan's son. I don't know where that kid got dirt on Cody Group. Today both the industrial and tax bureaus came to our company and took away all our account books," Jeffery said through gritted teeth.
Kelly and Bella immediately became tense upon hearing this.
Before they could ask further questions, Jeffery continued, "Although I had people clean up those account books over the years, there are traces left. The company will face hefty fines. In severe cases, it might be ordered to suspend operations for rectification. Lance won't miss this opportunity. By then, survival will be tough for our company."
"Is it really that serious?" Kelly asked anxiously.
She had lived a luxurious life for so long that she couldn't imagine what kind of life she'd lead without Cody Group.
Bella was also stunned.
Her greatest confidence came from Cody Group.
If Cody Group collapsed...
"Dad, we can't let Cody Group go bankrupt," she said with clenched fists.
Jeffery looked at her darkly. "I know we can't let Cody Group go bankrupt, but it's not up to me!"
"Why don't we make peace with Lance?" Kelly suggested instinctively but foolishly.
Bella's eyes widened as she screamed hysterically, "Mom! What nonsense are you talking about? After all Lance did to me, why should I bow down to him?!"
Jeffery's face was equally dark.
If he bowed down to Lance now, everything he had done before would become a joke. How could he ever stand his ground in Cloudmere again?
"I will never bow down!" he declared firmly.
Seeing both father and daughter so agitated, Kelly felt awkward but still believed it was their only option deep down.
After all, only if Cody Group survived could they seize an opportunity in the future to take revenge on Lance.
If Cody Group collapsed, they would lose their capital and any chance of revenge!