The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1768

“Anthony, what’s this supposed to mean?” Kenneth yelped as soon as he saw the transfer. “Five-twenty? Come on, who are you trying to kid? Block him. Don’t let Anthony in.”

“Hold on a second!” Anthony’s reply came with a slow raise of his eyebrow, his voice cool and deep. “I’m a married man now. I don’t have spare cash on me. If I want to spend, I need my wife’s approval.”

Kenneth rolled his eyes so hard it was almost audible, then looked up toward Charlotte’s room in disbelief. “You really buy that?”

“I do, actually. Makes sense to me,” Charlotte said, totally straight-faced, lips twitching with the hint of a smile. “Let him in.”

Parrish looked like his eyeballs might hit the floor. If she was already going to bat for him this hard, there was no telling how the rest of this would go.

“That easy, huh?” One of the older relatives, who had been watching from upstairs, grumbled under their breath as Anthony strolled through the front door. “Lottie isn’t even pretending not to play favorites.”

“Well, you know your daughter,” Nora said softly, giving a helpless kind of smile. “The day she’s not biased, that’ll be a real surprise.”

If it weren’t for her brothers doing their best to block the way, Anthony might not have even made it upstairs before whisking the bride away.

Phase two.

At the next checkpoint, Donald and Roger waited, standing guard.

“Donald, Roger.” Anthony greeted them with a polite nod, his voice steady, his posture relaxed but respectful.

Donald, wearing a sharp black suit that only made him look more intimidating, shot back, “Don’t bother trying to cozy up to us. We’re not buying it.”

Anthony just chuckled, warm but unphased. “Okay, so what’s the challenge?”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Donald said, switching from serious to sly, a grin slipping onto his face. “This target’s moving. The center’s not easy to hit. Miss just once and you owe ten million.”

He raised his voice, making sure Charlotte could hear him from upstairs. “And that’s coming out of your future allowance.”

Charlotte had been happily snacking on a cookie, but she froze with it halfway to her mouth. She looked around the room then zeroed in on Kenneth. “You all just planned this to bleed Anthony dry, didn’t you?”

“We…” Kenneth started, furrowing his brow, but Charlotte cut him off.

“He doesn’t even have any money, and as for me…” Charlotte let out a serious little sigh. “I don’t have any either.”