Yuri sobbed like a banshee as if she was trying to jettison all the unfairness, indignation, and humiliation she’d endured in just a few days.
Of course she’d thought the expensive gifts the Lewis family had brought were betrothal gifts for her.
Of course she’d assumed that the feast the Lewis family had taken them to in the Starry Garden Hotel was an engagement banquet.
It had taken Edward Lewis denying it in person for her to realize the truth.
Henry didn’t believe a word of what she’d said, raging, “Even if Mr. Lewis doesn’t have a son, there are other unmarried males in the Lewis Clan. It’s all listed as ‘Betrothal Gifts’ in the inventory, and you’re the only one in your family who hasn’t married yet. If it wasn’t for you, who was it all for?”
Hearing “Betrothal Gifts” finally brought some clarity to Yuri, and her face turned ashen. “So they really were betrothal gifts. Just not for me.”
With that, she turned and left.
When Edward had come saying he bore gifts for Baron, she’d had her doubts. The list had actually said “Betrothal Gifts” when the items first arrived. She’d thought she had made a mistake then.
Now she finally knew. They were betrothal gifts – the Lewis Clan had passed them to Tracy on Baron’s behalf.
“Yuri, don’t go!”
Seeing that Yuri was leaving, Henry began to panic.
“Dad, don’t get too worked up. Give us some time, and we can convince Yuri,” Sherry hastened forward and spoke.
“If we can’t solve the clan’s crisis tonight, then it’s all over!”
Henry roared furiously, then continued, “The trouble the Perry clan is in is all thanks to your household. If you can’t get the Lewis Clan’s forgiveness by the break of dawn, forget about coming back to the family – I’ll make you all pay!”
With that, Henry spun and left. Sherry hurried to chase after him. “Dad, you really mean it to make Terry assistant general manager, and give us the courtyard mansion?”
Henry was far too incensed to reply. He stepped into his car and sped off.
“Terry, what did Dad mean by that? I thought he said he would make you assistant general manager. What about our mansion?” Sherry wasn’t yet aware of the danger to the Perry Clan.
His wife was so infuriating that Terry had to laugh. “If you want to live in a mansion, go to the Perry courtyard yourself tomorrow to see if he has one ready for you.”
“What do you mean, Terry?” Sherry snapped, embarrassed.
“You imbecile! Don’t you get it yet? The Perry Clan is going to be destroyed! After tonight, the clan’s probably going to die out. Do you think he’d stoop to visiting us if they hadn’t been backed into a corner?” Terry yelled.
“No, we have to do something! We can’t let the clan fold over like this! Look, Terry, if Yuri’s not going to go beg the Lewis Clan for leniency, we’ll go ourselves!”
Sherry’s emotions ran wild as she tugged at Terry. “As long as we solve the clan’s crisis for them, Granddad will definitely get us that courtyard mansion, get you that general manager’s position, and maybe even let you take over as the head of the clan eventually.”
Even though the Perry Clan never treated them with respect, the clan name itself was an asset. All these years, even if they’d done nothing to show for it, they’d enjoyed a share of the profits every month.
If the family collapsed, that was all going away.
“Get off me!”
Terry shoved his wife away, growling, “You and your blind greed! Do you really think the richest family of Cona is going to listen to the likes of you?”
Sherry’s expression dulled. “Is the Perry Clan really finished?”
The Raven Bar.
Yuri held up a wineglass and quaffed it.
“What’s up with you, Yuri?”
A voice rang out, taking the glass.
“Bonnie, you’re here! Drink with me.” Seeing that it was her best friend, Yuri dragged Bonnie to a seat next to her.
Bonnie hadn’t known what was going on when she took the call a moment ago, but Yuri had sounded strange, so she’d rushed over.
Seeing the empty bottles piled atop the table, Bonnie knew that Yuri was dead drunk. “What happened, Yuri? Tell me, and I’ll deal with it for you.”
Yuri wasn’t playing about. Hearing Bonnie’s words, she flung her arms around her and sobbed, “Why? Why do this to me? Why?”
In the middle of her sobs, she pushed Bonnie off her and raised another glass to drink.
Bonnie hurried to stop her. “Yuri, please, if you want to drink, let’s head to my place where we can drink all you want!”
The pair hadn’t taken but three steps out the taxi before there came the harsh squeal of tires. Bonnie looked behind and saw a minivan stopped next to them. Two brutes with tattooed arms emerged.
“What do you want?” Seeing the men approach, Bonnie was filled with terror.
One of the brutes stepped forward and chopped down with the heel of his hand. Bonnie fell unconscious on the spot.
The other brute had already dragged Yuri onto the car.
It had all happened within the blink of an eye. Before anyone could notice, Yuri had been taken away.
Not far away on the roadside, an Audi A6 was stopped, where Phillip was leering. “Let’s see if you can refuse my demands after I get some good photos of your one-night-stand.”
Bonnie woke to find herself in a bush. She rubbed the aching back of her neck, then remembered the events prior to her blacking out and panicked. “YURI!”
But Yuri was nowhere to be found.
The Perry garden.
Tracy looked at the time. “It’s past ten.”
As she mused, she placed a phone call, but it was shut off at the other end, which was disturbing.
She left the room, looking over the stairs to Sherry - who was busy watching television – and asked, “Mom, do you know where Yuri’s gone? It’s so late; why isn’t she home yet?”
Sherry didn’t even lift her head, saying without a care in the world, “She’s no child. How would I know where she’s gone?
“Ha ha, what a twist!” Completely immersed in the television drama, Sherry began to laugh callously.
Sighing, Tracy went back to her room.
At that moment, her phone suddenly rang. Seeing that the caller was Bonnie, a bad feeling began to nag at her, and she hurriedly took the call.
“Tracy, Yuri’s been kidnapped!”
The moment Tracy picked up, she heard Bonnie sobbing.
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