The vi was engulfed in mes, with thick smoke rolling through the air. In the distance, the sound of fire trucks could already be heard.


    Carmen also copsed onto the ground, unable to believe what she was seeing. Then, she grabbed Liam by the shoulders. "What? What did you say?"


    Liam''s face was covered in ash, his eyes devoid of any spark. "Dad''s still inside. The fire started in his room. We couldn''t save him..."


    Hearing this, Carmen also lunged toward the house, but when she reached the front door, the messhed out and scorched her arms. Tears streamed from her eyes because of the smoke, but she still fought her way into the ze.


    Grace ran over and quickly yanked her from the mes.


    "Let me go! Let me go! Quentin!" Carmen thrashed wildly, her sharp nails leaving scratches all over Grace''s arms.


    Grave had no choice but to knock her out cold.


    Carmen fell to the ground, limp. Grace then dragged her away toward Liam.


    Liam was still crying, looking totally unlike the pampered young heir he was.


    "Grace..." Liam kept sobbing.


    Standing beside him and seeing him sniveling again, she couldn''t help but give him another p. "Look at how pathetic you are now. What''s there to cry about? Think! Who set this fire? Now that Dad''s gone, you have to run Lambert Group now."


    Liam''s face was ckened with soot, but there were two clean streaks where the tears had washed away the dirt. He wiped his face and clung tightly to Grace''s leg. "Grace, please. Don''t leave me."


    Grace''s temples throbbed. She refrained from kicking this useless mess away. She dialed 911 for an ambnce for Carmen and then came back to talk to the firefighters.


    The fire burned until dawn, leaving behind nothing but charred wreckage. The hem of Grace''s pants was scorched, making her look like she had been dragged out of an ash pit. In the ruins, one couldn''t even tell where Quentin''s bed had once been. There was nothing left.


    Grace shoved aside a metal frame while everything else snapped and creaked as it fell apart.


    The police had also arrived. They needed to investigate the cause of the fire.


    Grace looked up and saw Liam sitting a distance away, dazed and drained. She quickly told the officers, "I''ll leave it to you. Please call me if you have any updates."


    The police then beganbing through the scene.


    Grace walked toward Liam and pulled him up. In just one night, their family was torn apart. Liam was only 19 years old, and the shock was too great for him to handle.


    She pushed him into her car and took a deep breath. "I''m taking you to my ce. Clean up and have some sleep. The police will look into the fire, but you''ve got a real fight ahead. Some of Dad''s shares were transferred to me, and I haven''t had the chance to return them. I''ll draw up a transfer agreement. So, from now on, you''re the CEO of Lambert Group."


    Liam lowered his head. In the past, all he did was think about how to sponge off others. Quentin had wanted him to learn business, but he had always cked off -figuring his two older sisters had it covered.


    "Grace, maybe we should sell our shares."


    The car mmed to a halt, and Grace grabbed him by the cor.


    "Liam Lambert, you listen to me carefully. Dad built thispany from nothing. He poured his heart and soul into it and never once. bothered us with it. Thepany isn''t at the point where it needs to be sold. I''ll pave the way for you. It''ll give you some time to grow."


    Liam was startled by her tone. Both of them were covered in ash, so all he could see was a pair of dark eyes on her face. He choked up again and started wiping away more tears.


    Grace let go of his cor, her expression calm. "Don''t let me see you cry again after today."


    Liam remained silent, and even his sobs had quieted down.


    Back at her ce, Grace sent Liam to shower and tossed him one of her pajamas. Then, she went to shower as well and dried her hair in a hurry.


    Seeing that she was about to leave, Liam wanted to follow, but the doorbell rang. It was Quentin''s assistant.


    Liam knew who he was, but this person had always been on the quieter side. He barely spoke to anyone but Quentin, but he was good at what he did.


    His name was Sebastian Fenwick, and he was around 30 years old. He had already prepared the transfer agreement.


    Grace signed the document and looked at Sebastian. "List out all of our family''s properties before Ie back. Please include their market value as well. Also, sell whatever you can within a month."


    Sebastian was slightly surprised but said nothing.


    Grace thought he might be unwilling and was about to exin, but Sebastian cut her off. "Ms. Lambert, I understand. Mr. Lambert had once said that you might be the only one in the family with real vision. He said he''d feel at ease leaving Liam to you."


    Grace''s chest tightened painfully. She owed her father too much, but now, it was


    toote to repay him. The only thing she could do now was to take good care of


    her brother, Liam.


    She nodded and nced at Liam,


    who was sitting on the couch wearing her pajamas. She instructed, "I''ll ask Sebastian to get you some clothes. Stay home. Last night''s fire has probably made the


    news. Thepany''s stock is bound to decline soon. Edric''s


    bound to make a move."


    Edric had been itching to take over Quentin''s ce. He had stirred up some


    trouble when Quentin was sick.


    Now that Quentin was dead, Edric would naturally threaten the Lambert family to turn over their shares.


    The worst-case scenario would be for him to find Alice. If he seeded in obtaining her 10% of shares, his power in thepany would be second only to the CEO.


    And after everything that had happened, Alice had probably given up on herself. She would do anything to make Grace''s life harder.