It was such a pity that Sophia was unable to stay awake to listen to Richardâs rambling and was fast asleep soon after. However, Michael was still listening to him over the phone.
Richard did not receive a response from her, but he was also aware that he placed her in a difficult situation. My girl is deeply in love with me, so how could she possibly get in bed with another man?
âSophia, you should take a few days and mull over this. Iâm not in a rush. You should rest well and Iâll drop by to visit you in a couple of daysâ time when Iâve settled some loose ends.â He hung up on the call after saying that.
Michael observed his petite wife, who was fast asleep, after the phone call ended. He gently kissed her small face while staring at her phone out of curiosity. There seems to be some changes in the way that Sophia behaves lately. For example, the wallpaper on her phone used to be her selfie with Nate in the past, but there has been a recent change suddenly. Nateâs photo will show up on odd-numbered days whereas my portraits will show up on even-numbered days.
She even registered my number under the name of âIdolâ.
Nathan knew that he had to stop playing games since Sophia was asleep, so he switched off the game and regarded Michael in silence.
Michael changed into his frog pajamas after his shower and summoned Nathan to the study, asking, âDid Mommy say anything to you today?â
Nathan answered with honesty, âMommy mentioned today that the Harper Family is horrible. She wants to take revenge on them sooner or later!â
Michaelâs eyes gleamed upon hearing that and mulled over the meaning of that sentence. After a short pause, he patted Nathanâs head while commenting, âNate, itâs getting late. Go ahead and sleep.â
Nathan went ahead to sleep whereas Michael stayed in the study to continue processing what he had said.
Since this incident has happened, I certainly will like to destroy everything that the Harper Family has.
However, reality will never work like novels. Crushing an entire family doesnât happen overnight.
Although the Harpers arenât on par as the rest of the powerful families like the Fletchers, the Mitchells, the Winstons, and the Edwards, they are still considered a well-respected family. It will definitely take more effort to crush them.
Furthermore, if Iâm too obvious with my actions, they might notice something suspicious and find out with certain clues. Besides, Sophia would rather⦠take revenge in person.
After pondering for a long time, he summoned Hale into the studyâ¦
â¦
Richard felt guilty after his phone call to Sophia. How can I possibly ask Sophia to offer herself to Joel?
However, if she doesnât offer herself, this matter will not be easily resolved. Itâs all for the Harper Familyâs sake and our future happiness. Sophia will understand where Iâm coming from!
Once he was able to justify his actions, his guilt miraculously diminished.
The Huff Family had done a lot for the Harpers throughout the difficult period. Xyla even sought help from her uncle, Joe Edwards, and went everywhere to mediate, hoping that the matter could be resolved in a satisfactory manner.
She had accompanied Richard throughout the ordeal and he reaped the efforts that she and the Huffs exercised while waiting for Sophiaâs reply.
Sophia never replied to him, but after a few days, the Harper Family had received an exciting piece of newsâDirector Jenkins was willing to resolve the matter under the table.
Although they were of the same race, he only had a daughter whom he loved deeply. Director Jenkins often made use of his power and influence to force Taylor to meet his daughter, knowing how much she fancied him.
His daughter was truly an oddball, considering that everyone in their social circle knew that she fancied Taylor Murray. There were even rumors claiming that Taylorâs portraits were printed on her underwear.
Now that his daughter had experienced such an ordeal, Director Jenkins announced that he would do everything within his power to ruin Kaylaâs reputation. However, he suddenly came today, asking to bury the hatchet.
As long as he was the one who suggested settling things under the table, the subsequent procedures would be a breeze.
There was nothing on earth that money couldnât solve. However, he was asking for a lotâhe wanted 50 million and the Harperâs Mansion.
Although 50 million was quite a large sum for the Harper Family, they were ready to fork out that money âas long as it was in exchange for Kaylaâs freedom. However, they were unwilling to surrender the Harperâs Mansion.
The Harperâs Mansion was most probably considered the best accommodation in Riverdale and the best asset that the Harper Family possessed. Two hundred years ago, the Harpers were already a well-
respected family in Bayside City and started constructing the Harperâs Mansion at that time. Not only did they hire a famous architect, but even the construction materials were sourced internationally. After several generations of continual improvements and expansion, the mansion stood proud in its current appearance. Besides, it was located at the best spot in Riverdale with its luxury and extravagance comparable to Buckingham Palace.
The Harper Family was involved in the real estate business and since the mansion was for their own use, they went all out with its splendid and luxurious construction where every detail was completed to perfection. Hence, the market price for the Harper Mansion exceeded 100 million.
It was no longer as simple as a house because it represented the roots of the Harper Family and the pride of the Harpers. To a certain extent, the Harperâs Mansion could even be considered as a cultural relic.
Director Jenkins was adamant with his decision. He gave them three days to evacuate the mansion;
otherwise, he would sue until Kayla was imprisoned!
Even if she had been diagnosed with a mental illness, she would never be able to escape!
The Harper Family was in a dilemma. Nevertheless, it was obvious that saving Kayla was more important!
In the end, Mr. and Mrs. Harper bit the bullet and agreed. The Harpers were lucky in the sense that they had an abundance of real estate, so they did not have any difficulties searching for a place to move into.
In fact, they shifted everything from the mansion overnight.
Once news of the Harpers moving out spread to the public, the entire Harper Family had also caught wind of it too.
Richardâs family was not the only family living in the Harperâs Mansion. Some of his uncles and grandfather had also lived there. Hence, the Harpers had a massive fight over it, arguing that they should divide the family and its assets. Old Master Harper had been angered by his immature and useless granddaughter that he had to be sent to the hospital.
While they were busy shifting houses, Richard reassured the company shareholders. He had to hire some public relations to delete certain negative posts and suppress the news of Kayla instigating others to drug and harm other people.
The public knew that something big had happened during her banquet. News had spread sporadically about it, but the public relations hired by the Harpers swiftly solved that issue.
Money, money, money! Everything depended on money!
He felt that no matter how much the real estate market increased in value, and no matter how many real estate properties the Harper Family had, she would spend all of their money sooner or later!
A gloomy haze shrouded over the entire Harper Familyâtheir internal turmoil had caused the companyâs stock market to drop. They had splurged on the charity banquet to gain favor with the public, but after it had been ruined, even the favorable impression was gone. He could only try to keep things contained for damage control, hoping that the foolish things she did would not spread to the public!
Three days had passed since their argument. A group of mysterious-looking people arrived to take over the Harperâs Mansionâas the Harper Family was very large, they had a lot of belongings.
They had lived in the mansion for two hundred years, so they had put down their roots in that place.
Hence, there were a lot of items that had not been shifted, despite the Harpers hiring a lot of people to help them out.
The group of men in black barged into the Harperâs Mansion and started to chase everyone out of the property. He was in the midst of packing the last of his documents in the study when they barged in and threw him out together with his documents without further explanation.
âGet lost. Everyone, get lost right now. If you donât, I will sue you for trespassing on private property!â The men in black were acting like brutes, chasing everyone out in the blink of an eye.
According to the terms of the contract, Director Jenkins had expected to move into a fully furnished accommodation. Therefore, the Harpers were not allowed to take any large furniture with them.
Upon witnessing the Harperâs Mansion being occupied by others, Richardâs eyes were filled with dejection and anger, but he mostly felt helpless. What is happening this year? Why is the Harper Family experiencing such things on repeat? Is this truly our unlucky year?
Before entering the car, he shot one last, longing look at the place where he lived since he was a child. I will return here one fine day!