Every part of Yang Lina’s being seemed to have hit pause as she tried to catch up with her thoughts. Lily successfully diverted her attention away from her son. This could only mean one thing. Yang Lina’s hands immediately trembled before she reached for her phone and tried to call her husband. Before she could dial his number, however, she heard her father’s voice.
“Please leave the Yang Family,” he said, his tone stern, completely devoid of any emotion. Yang Lina instantly froze as she turned to face her father. “Leave the Yang Family. I don’t want to get involved in your matter.” Old Man Yang’s already wrinkly face seemed to have aged even further as he let out a long sigh. “Once Yang Sen wakes up, he and Yuyan will go and see Lily Zhuo. Hong Kong and China do not have an extradition treaty and I don’t think the government will surrender a high ranking officer to Hong Kong. I’m sure Lily also knows this. That is the reason why she immediately refused Yang Jing when he told her about the law.”
“Father! How could you…”
“I am doing this for the whole Yang Family. Lily Zhuo came from abroad and her ties in the east are still weak. Her husband, however, is an entirely different matter. The government considers President Zhuo to be an ally but this does not mean that Zhuo Jingren does not have any connections in the black market. That man could easily ask some triad members to blow up our factories and drag everyone in the Yang Family down with you.”
“Father… I am your daughter. You cannot abandon me like this!” Unfortunately, Yang Lina’s plea was met with absolute silence from everyone in the room. Once again, Yang Lina started sobbing. “Father, why are you doing this? It was not our fault! It was He Xinlan’s fault. She was the one driving the car! She was the one who hit Lily’s mother!”
Seeing her father’s calm gaze, Yang Lina knew that the old man was determined not to listen to any more of her explanations.
‘Family is just a word’
Once again, Lily’s voice echoed inside her mind as she looked at everyone in the room. Each and every one of them were engrossed in their own thoughts. Everyone heard her father’s words, Yang Lina was sure of it, but not one single person tried to defend her. Everyone was trying to avoid her eyes except for Yang Tao, and he was looking at her with utter disgust.
Her brother, who used to spoil her as if she was his most precious relationship, was looking at her with revulsion and contempt! How could Yang Lina stomach this sight?
“I will ask my men to send all of your things to Hong Kong with you,” Old Man Yang said after a few minutes of silence. “Now leave, and think about your selfish actions which caused all of this chaos.”
“Father…. Please… I can change… I can…”
“Leave now…Leave before I ask the attendants to drag you out of this house,” Old Man Yang said as he stared intently into Yang Lina’s eyes. “Lying was one thing but hurting your own brother is another. You have lied, killed, and manipulated people, now you are hurting the people who love you the most. I do not recognize you anymore, Yang Lina. I am not sure what kind of monster you have become!”
“Father, it was because….”
“Family?” Yang Tao interrupted her. “You have been saying that over and over again, yet you do not even understand that word! How could you lie and attempt to manipulate the people that you considered as family? Lina… you do not consider us as your family! You did everything for yourself and not for us. I am so disappointed in you!”
Yang Lina stared at her brother and then towards Old Man Yang, tears streaming down her cheeks as her heart seemed to break into even smaller pieces. She can see it… she can feel it. Hurt, despair and disappointment. Yang Lina immediately wondered if this what Qin Jinghua felt back then when everyone abandoned her?
Yang Lina did not remember which emotion finally made her leave the room. She remembered running out but that was it. Did she run because of disappointment? Embarrassment? Hurt? Or maybe it was a combination of all of those feelings. Her tears were still coursing down her cheeks as she dragged her feet towards the entrance of the mansion. This place had been home for more than twenty years, yet the people who live here just kicked her out as easy as kicking a ball out of the house. The people who lived here chose an evil woman over her. Based on this alone, Yang Lina found it logical that she should leave and go home. Leave the people who do not want her in their lives. Leave everyone who’d abandoned her. However, her heart was telling her a different thing.
All these years, Yang Lina had been very accustomed to using the Yang Family’s prestige as a justification for her actions. If the Yang Family announced that they would no longer associate themselves with Yang Lina, she was sure that this would wreak havoc in her life and those of the Xuan Family.
She had lost her backing. She then recalled Lily’s words during their confrontation at the coffee shop.
‘If I target your family, you will be nothing. Just as Xuan Hui will be nothing once you are dead.’
The viciousness in Lily’s eyes seemed to stick into her mind, making her remember it at times like this. Did Lily plan all of this ahead of time? How was she able to predict that she would be abandoned by her family? Then the second sentence that Lily uttered flew into her mind:
‘Just as Xuan Hui will be nothing once you are dead.’
Is Lily planning to kill her? Yang Lina immediately swallowed her non-existent saliva before she dialed Xuan Zengmo’s number. However, he was unreachable at the moment. She immediately tried calling his secretary but she was informed that Xuan Zengmo was having a very important meeting with the other legislators. The secretary also advised her to call in the afternoon after the meeting has ended.
Yang Lina instantly clenched her teeth as she finally walked out of the mansion, her mind in shambles. For some reason, she had a very bad premonition as she thought about Lily’s divide and conquer plan.
Lily had already divided them… Is she going to carry out the conquering part of her plan now?
