“You should understand, Khloe,” Clarice sneered, her composure cracking to reveal pure contempt, “even if the estate is legally yours, you lack the capability to manage it.”
Ethan, too, looked stunned. No one in Goldmont City had ever dared to refuse his mother so directly.
“Khloe,” he said, dropping all pretense of politeness, “this isn’t a request. The Morrison family’s affairs are far more complex than you can imagine. Your decision impacts everyone. You cannot stand against the entire family.”
But Khloe saw it clearly-this was a simple power play. To them, money was control, and she was a nobody they expected to buy off with pocket change.
Unfortunately for them, she wasn’t one to bend.
“So this isn’t a negotiation, but an ultimatum?” A faint, cold smile touched her lips. “How unfortunate for you. A legal inheritance cannot be voided by anyone’s ‘notice.’”
“I’ve already reviewed the Morrison Group’s portfolio. Core real estate assets are valued at over ten billion, with annual revenue consistently above eight billion. And you offer me ten million as ‘compensation’? That might buy a single commercial storefront. But against a ten-billion-dollar empire, it isn’t a settlement-it’s outright theft.”
She slid the agreement neatly back across the table.
Clarice and Ethan exchanged a look of sheer astonishment.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave,” Khloe stated evenly. “We can either proceed according to the law, or we can negotiate in good faith. Ethan, you are my father’s adopted son. Under the inheritance law, your claim follows mine. Would the Morrison family truly allow an unrelated adoptee to supersede their own bloodline?”
She stood and turned toward the door.
“Stop her,” Clarice snapped.
The bodyguards flanking the hall immediately moved to block the exit. Khloe paused, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “Clarice, are you resorting to force?”
“Don’t mistake my patience for weakness,” Clarice replied, her tone icy. “Sign the agreement while I’m still willing to offer you anything at all.”
Ethan loomed over her, his height casting a shadow. “Then name your price.”
“My price,” Khloe said, meeting his gaze without a flicker of fear, “is everything my father left me. Not a single cent less.”
“Then you leave us no choice,” Ethan said, his voice turning cold and hard as the guards closed in.
Clarice retreated toward the window as the heavy doors began to swing shut, sealing Khloe inside.
Khloe stood her ground, spine straight and gaze like ice, ready for whatever came next.
But just then, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.
A dozen men in impeccably tailored black suits filed into the room, with Nigel following closely behind them.
Ethan froze mid-step. He recognized the insignia on their lapels. His face paled, and he instinctively looked to his mother for direction.
“Madam,” Nigel said, leaning close to murmur a few quiet words into Clarice’s ear. Her haughty expression shattered, replaced by sheer disbelief.
“What did you just say?”
“Master Henry just called to confirm,” Nigel replied. “The Hunt family has chosen the young mistress.”
Before the weight of this could even settle, one of the newly arrived men broke from the group and walked directly up to Khloe.
“Miss Khloe?” he inquired, his tone respectful.
Still processing the sudden rescue, she managed a nod.
“My master requests the honor of your company for dinner tomorrow evening.” He presented her with a stark, black business card, its lettering stamped in sharp, raised gold foil. Having delivered his message, he and his contingent withdrew as swiftly and silently as they had arrived.
Khloe looked down at the card in her hand. A single name stood out, commanding and unmistakable: Nick Hunt.
The Morrison family guards looked on, bewildered, their eyes darting between Ethan and Clarice. It was only after Clarice gave a sharp, nearly imperceptible nod that Ethan, seething with frustration, waved a dismissive hand for them to stand down.
Though utterly confused by the intervention, Khloe didn’t hesitate. She didn’t look back as she walked out of the reception hall and out of the mansion.
The moment the front door closed, Ethan whirled toward his mother. “Mom! How could we just let her go?”
“What else could we do?” Clarice’s voice was frigid, her perfectly manicured nails drawing half-moons in her own palms. “You saw who that was. That was the Hunt family.”
Outside the estate, Khloe spotted a convoy of black cars pulling out. Dark tinted windows gave her a sudden chill, as though unseen eyes were locked on her.
“Khloe.”
She turned. A white Bentley had rolled up beside her. The window lowered, revealing a middle-aged man in casual sportswear.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.