Chapter 664 Wasted Effort

Yerek’s eyes gleamed slyly. He deliberately tried to dissuade Azure, “Grandma, don’t act so rashly. It won’t solve anything. Let’s calm down and talk this through civilly. Nothing is black and white. I believe Old Mr. Stone must have his reasons for his decision.”

Barnaby could not help gaining a little more respect for Yerek upon hearing the latter’s words.

In truth, Yerek’s behavior endeared him to Barnaby, but unfortunately, he was neither strong nor willful enough to lead the family.

Sheridan was a more suitable heir to the Stone family.

If the events that followed had not occurred, Barnaby might have considered legitimizing Yerek later on. However, when Azure heard Yerek’s words, she only became even more enraged.

“Yerek, stop caring about others! Think about the precarious position that you and your father are in. Haven’t we been oppressed enough as it is?” Azure said angrily. “Now, your own grandpa wants to do the same and pour salt on our wounds! I can’t stay calm!”

Barnaby was not without conscience. After all, Azure was his first love whom he had loved for many years, and she had even bore him a child.

“I cannot legitimize them for the time being. Nevertheless, if there’s anything else you need, I’ll do it as long as it is within my control, Barnaby said, capitulating partially to Azure’s demands.

He had only agreed to compromise so that Azure would calm down and stop embarrassing him by appearing suddenly at the Stone family residence.

Azure cracked a satisfied smile. “Well, if so, don’t you think you should make it up to Nigel and Yerek since they won’t have the right to the Stone family’s inheritance which Sheridan will be entitled to? Shouldn’t they be treated like the other Stone family members and receive some assets at least?”

What Azure was asking for was essentially the same as demanding Barnaby acknowledge Nigel and Yerek as his blood. The only difference was their official legitimacy.

Barnaby was about to reject her when the door to the study burst open suddenly, “I do not agree!” Wendy hobbled in with her cane, leaning heavily on Sheridan for support. Her sharp eyes pierced into Barnaby’s. “Barnaby, you’re the head of the Stone family, but yet, you’re under this woman’s thumb. If people got wind of this, it would bring the Stone family shame!”

Barnaby stared at the ground as he listened to his mother’s tirade, not daring to deny her accusations or defend himself.

Wendy was an influential figure in the Stone family. Her word could determine a person’s fate and position within the family.

Azure sneered and countered, “Old Mdm. Garcia, this is between Barnaby and me. You should stay out of Wendy looked at Azure indifferently, and her voice dripped with contempt when she spoke. “If you were Barnaby’s lawfully wedded wife, I would definitely not interfere, but you are not. You are an outsider. Frankly, you are just another gold digger. As the head of the Stone family, I’m merely watching over our family’s affairs. You, on the other hand, are the one who’s meddling in our family matters.”

Azure was no match for Wendy’s words. Thus, she turned her eyes to Barnaby and demanded angrily, “Barnaby, tell me now, do you agree to my request?”

Wendy glared at Barnaby, the warning look in her eyes a silent order to stand down. “Well, Barnaby, since you seem to be unable to make up your mind, I’ll make the decision on your behalf.”

Barnaby could not go against Wendy’s words. He nodded and said weakly, “Yes, thank you, Mom.”

Azure’s hatred for Barnaby burned intensely. She had wasted too many years loving him.

“As Sheridan said before, the Stone family does not acknowledge any illegitimate children. We will not allow Nigel to call us his family, and we certainly will not be giving away our assets to any outsiders. You can cause as much drama as you want, but be warned that if you harm the good name of our family, we will not show you mercy. I’ve heard about your family’s nasty habits. To put it bluntly, all you want is money. Well, the Stone family does not care about spending a little money if it means a problem can be solved.”

Then, Wendy turned to Barnaby and said, “If you want to solve a problem, you must pay the price. You must pay what is due. We must not let people think that the Stones are tight-fisted with our money.”

“Yes, I’ll remember that,” Barnaby replied meekly.

“Sheridan, let’s go receive the guests. It’s my birthday banquet today. Let’s not allow such trivial matters to ruin the mood.”

Wendy’s eyes were gentle and kind when she turned to Sheridan, “Okay, let’s go.” Sheridan cast a smug glance at Azure and Yerek, then turned to leave the study with Wendy holding onto his arm.

Barnaby quickly set about carrying out Wendy’s instructions. He signed a cheque for fifty million in Azure’s name and pulled out the deed for a property worth several million.

“Take this. This is the most compensation that I can give you. This will be enough to refill the company’s empty coffers. Be more cautious in the future.” Barnaby pressed the check and the title deed into Azure’s hands. “Please don’t contact us again if there’s nothing important.”

Azure felt so self-righteously angry that she wanted to throw the cheque and title deed back in Barnaby’s face, but what he said was the truth.

She really needed the money.

Nigel wanted to appeal for a lighter sentence. They would have to hire an experienced lawyer to file the appeal, and such lawyers did not come cheap. In the past, Azure could have easily afforded the fees, but times had changed. Nigel had drained her private funds to pay off the company’s debts. She was barely getting by at the moment.

“Barnaby, you b”stard! Karma will come back to bite the Stone family!” Azure cried out angrily. She snatched up the cheque and title deed before leaving in a whirl of grief and anger.

Yerek looked at Barnaby sadly. Then, he, too, turned and left without another word.

He had thought that Barnaby would step up to his responsibilities as a father and grandfather, but he had turned out to be a spineless worm with no real influence. Belatedly, Yerek realized he had wasted too much time focused on Barnaby, He should have learned from Sheridan and curried for Wendy’s favor instead From that moment, Yerek shifted his focus from Barnaby to Wendy After Christina and Nathaniel got home, they sent some men to trail after the Stone family and take note of their movements As expected, Azure and Yerek did not manage to get what they wanted from the Stone family Instead they had only succeeded in increasing the Stone family’s dislike for them.

Azure had wanted to take advantage of Wendy’s birthday banquet to force Barnaby’s hand. The timing was right, but Azure had made a mistake by overestimating Barnaby’s position within the Stone family and underestimating Wendy’s ways.

The Stone family already had an excellent successor in Sheridan. Wendy would not allow Nigel to retur to the family to avoid any power struggle between the two “Christina, we have the results from the surveillance records