?<strong>Chapter 1025:</strong>


    Though Brook seemed indifferent to his physical pain, Hoyt felt a satisfaction in seeing this discord unfold.


    He leaned back with a self-satisfied grin, eager to see Ken’s next move. But Ken’sugh, cold and mirthless, cut through the air like a knife. “You think I won’t deal with you?” Ken’s voice was a low rumble of warning.


    Hoyt froze, confusion clouding his thoughts. Then, Ken’s voice sliced through the silence again. “I haven’t forgotten how you schemed and nearly killed Lorna. Don’t think I’ll let you go easily.”


    Hoyt’s defenses crumbled, a nervousugh escaping him. “What… what are you talking about? Do you have proof?” he stammered.


    To steer the conversation away from the dangerous waters, Hoyt quickly shifted the subject. “And what about you? You were behind that car ident that left me with broken bones, weren’t you?” As he spoke, his neck muscles bulged with fury.


    He’d spent weeks in the hospital, the remnants of old injuries still tormenting him. Now, his face was bleeding again, another scar to add to the collection.


    He expected Ken to deny it, just as he had done before. But instead, Ken spoke inly.


    “Yes, it was me.”


    Ken’s eyes were as cold as a winter night, his gaze unwavering. He tilted his head, a hint of mockery dancing in his eyes. “So, what will you do about it?”


    Hoyt was furious, burning with the urge to pummel Ken. “I knew it! It had to be you, you lunatic, who sent them after me!” he shouted.


    But as Hoyt lunged forward, his eyes caught Allison’s subtle flick of the wrist. He froze in his tracks, hesitant to take another step.


    Ken and Allison always seemed prepared for a fight, no matter the odds.


    “The car crash was just a taste of what’sing. Stop ying the poor, innocent victim. You know clearly what you’ve done,” Ken sneered. His gaze was dripping with contempt, and his tone made no effort to hide the disdain he felt toward Hoyt.


    “If you’d actually killed Lorna back then,” Ken added coldly, “I wouldn’t have let you walk away breathing.”


    “You!” Hoyt’s rage boiled over again, threatening to unhinge himpletely.


    He had nevere across anyone so infuriatingly smug in his life. Hoyt remembered the agony of his broken bones from before, and it stopped him from saying anything threatening. He knew all too well that Ken meant business.


    If Brook hadn’t stepped in to shield him back then, and if Ken didn’t have a use for the Lloyd Group, Hoyt knew he would have been left dead in the suburbs.


    That chilling thought made him nce quickly at Brook.


    “Dad, we’re family! How could Ken be so heartless—”


    Before Hoyt could finish whining, Brook’s hand shot out and struck him.


    Smack!


    The sound of the p echoed sharply in the room.


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