As two of the three top giants in San Francisco, the Coles and the Kingstons had decided to go toe-to-toe against each other because of a young man!
If word about this matter spread, everyone would probably think that it was just rumors because it was completely unbelievable.
But it was a fact that they heard with their own ears!
For a moment, everyone stopped speaking, and the Kingstons’ front yard fell into silence.
Lance’s face constantly changed between blue and red. Eventually, he raised his head, gritted his teeth, and asked Edmund, “Edmund Cole, are you sure you want to go to war against the Kingstons?”
Without hesitation, Edmund immediately replied, “It’s not that I want to go to war with you but that you’re forcing me to!
“I’ve just said it. Your grandson has made a mistake, so he should bear the consequences for it. It’s only right that Lucas has come to look for him since he killed his mother-in-law! It was you who threatened me with going to war first. It’s up to you to decide if you want to fight or not. Regardless of your choice, I will fight you to the end! Anyway, no matter what, Lucas is my life savior, and the Coles will stand firmly behind him!”
Only then did Lance realize why Edmund was standing so firmly on Lucas’s side. Lucas had saved his life!
He was enraged!
Lance was so angry that he wanted to flip a table.
He knew that Edmund had always had a straightforward military-style character. He had also always been the type to take revenge where it was due and likewise repay the kindness others showed him. Since Lucas had saved his life, Edmund would never change his position!
In other words, if he vehemently refused to hand over Marc, the Coles would definitely go to war with the Kingstons, and that was no joke at all!
Feeling touched, Lucas looked at Edmund.
In fact, Edmund had always called him his life savior, but Lucas had always felt that he had just done Edmund a small favor, so he was rather touched by Edmund’s kindness.
In the end, Lucas could only say softly, “Thank you very much, Mr. Cole!”
He hadn’t thought of relying on the Coles’s power to solve this matter, nor had he ever thought of getting them involved.
But he would always remember this kindness that the Coles showed him. And if they ever needed help in the future, he wouldn’t hesitate to offer them a hand.
Alexis smiled and said, “Lucas, don’t worry. With me and Grandpa on your side, the Kingstons won’t do anything to you!”
She smiled sweetly, as if she didn’t even take the matter of the two families going to war seriously.
With a faint smile, Lucas turned around to look at Lance. “Mr. Kingston, my stand remains. I just need to take Marc Kingston alone. I hope you can consider this properly.”
In fact, when Lucas barged into the Kingston manor alone earlier, he had just been thinking of solving this matter on his own. If the Kingstons refused to cooperate, he wouldn’t mind annihilating them.
But as Damon, Connor, Joe, Edmund, and Alexis appeared, he slowly began to change his mind.
The reason was that the power of so many people combined would certainly attract lots of speculation and probing gazes.
Thus, Lucas’s plan to exterminate the Kingstons would be too high-profile, which would also inevitably draw the attention of many parties to him.
At this point, Lucas didn’t want to have such a high profile due to various considerations.
Lance seemed to hesitate.
There were only two options before him.
One, hand over his grandson Marc to Lucas, but that would be a blatant insult and shame to the Kingstons.
Two, protect his grandson and go to war against Lucas, the Coles, and the various families from Orange County and LA! The consequences would be unimaginable, and it would also very likely bring about enormous losses to the Kingstons.
He didn’t want either of the options.
Seeing his grandfather hesitating, Marc couldn’t help panicking as he quickly advised from the side, “Grandpa, you can’t agree to their request! Don’t fall for their scheming tricks! If the Kingstons really succumb to their compulsion and hand me over, what dignity will we have left?
“Grandpa, they’re just threatening to go to war with us because they want to intimidate us. If we really go to war, will the Kingstons be afraid of them? Even the Coles are just on par with us, let alone the other families. If you agree, won’t you be bowing down to them?”
Marc was overwhelmed with anxiety, fearing that his grandfather would cave in to the pressure and hand him over to them.
But Lance didn’t say anything while the rest of the Kingstons remained in a bizarre silence too.
In their opinion, if the Kingstons really went to war against the Coles and the other families, the outcome wasn’t something they could be optimistic about.
Moreover, this matter was originally caused by Marc, so they thought that it was only a matter of course for him to be handed over.
Most people were selfish, even relatives. To most people, interests and profits were the top priority.
Marc became even more flustered, and he couldn’t help inciting his grandfather. “Grandpa, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you also afraid of Edmund Cole and feel that you’re inferior to him?”
Lance flew into a rage and raised his hand to slap Marc’s face. “Bastard, trust you to have the cheek to say that. You are the cause of this trouble!
“You didn’t listen to all the admonishments I gave you, did you? Why did you kill that woman for no reason? If you hadn’t done it, would the Kingstons be facing the current crisis?”
“I…” Marc felt really aggrieved!
The Huttons were the ones who had given them the task of dealing with Lucas and the Stardust Corporation, which Lance was aware of too. He also knew that Marc was planning to use Karen’s death to frame and suppress Lucas, so he couldn’t figure out why he was getting blamed for it.
He was indeed rather indignant and extremely aggrieved.
While chiding him, Lance winked at Marc and then continued, “You’ve indeed made a mistake. As your grandfather, I can’t indulge you any longer. From today onward, you will be grounded and laid off from your current duties. You aren’t allowed to step out of the house for half a year! Do you hear me?”
Lance’s tone was extremely assertive and fierce, but Marc was overjoyed to hear his words.
Since his grandfather was going to confine him at home, it meant that he wasn’t going to hand him over to Lucas!
He immediately said gleefully, “Yes, Grandpa! I promise to stay at home in confinement and won’t set foot outside!”
After hearing what Lance said, Edmund turned gloomy. “Lance Kingston, so you’ve decided that you want to protect your grandson and not hand him over, right?”
