?Chapter 1670:


    Ethan gave a nod of approval. “Great. Keep pushing forward.”


    Once the engineers left, Brenna didn’t waste any time. She walked in, sat down across from Ethan, and got straight to business. “Ethan, do you know any botanists?”


    Ethan offered a small smile. “Yeah, I do. There’s Arturo Crawford over at the Botanical Research Institute. Why do you ask?”


    Brenna exined the matter about Woodham. Then, she said, “I’m looking to grow Woodham on arge scale. If I can pull it off, that special medicine for heart and brain diseases could be mass-produced within a few years.”


    “I’ll give him a quick call to find out if he’s interested.” Ethan scrolled through his phone, found the number for Arturo, and made the call.


    Arturo, a botany professor at Capital University with his own researchb and a team of graduate students, answered the call immediately.


    After a short conversation, Ethan hung up and said to Brenna, “He’s really interested. He even offered to help you cultivate the nts for free, as long as you give him a batch at no cost.”


    “That’s fine with me,” Brenna replied, then phoned Arturo herself after getting his number and set up a meeting.


    She met Arturo in the afternoon, and by the time she got home, it was already seven in the evening. She had just entered the living room when the sharp voices of her parents arguing reached her.


    Both Giselle and Shepard sat at opposite ends of the dining table, tension simmering in the air. Giselle’s face was flushed with anger, while Shepard’s expression was dark. The household staff kept themselves out of sight, steering clear of the brewing conflict.


    Sandra lingered near the table, and Ernst and Lilith had just arrived, shrugging off their coats.


    Trying to make sense of the situation, Brenna asked, “What’s going on here?”


    Giselle wasted no timeunching into herint. “Brenna, I want an honest answer. Did you have any idea that your father helped your uncle pay back the money? That was one hundred and ny million!”


    The news caught Brenna off guard. ncing at Shepard, she realized her dad had helped her uncle without telling her mom, but she had no intention of ming him.


    “I honestly had no clue,” she replied.


    With a sharp scoff, Giselle said, “A colleague mentioned today that Wesley just got sentenced to twelve years behind bars for things like taking bribes and neglecting his duties. I asked why the punishment wasn’t harsher. My colleague said the sentence got cut because someone paid back the missing public funds for him. I didn’t have to ask twice to know it was your father who covered it.”


    Shepard struggled to grasp the intensity of Giselle’s rage. With a tone of gentle persuasion, he spoke and reached out a hand toward her, only for Giselle to flinch away.


    “Keep your hands off me,” Giselle spat, her fury as real as it was raw.


    Giselle, seething with indignation,shed out at Shepard. “Why on earth should I let it go? It wasn’t your mother who passed away—it was mine. It wasn’t your father who shouldered the guilt—it was mine. I’ll never forgive him, Shepard. And I can’t bring myself to forgive you, either! He’s utterly selfish and heartless. He wronged my parents, and when my sister’s son required a bone marrow transnt and he was a match, he stood idly by as the boy perished. Why should we offer him aid now, when he finds himself in trouble? You’ve let me down so profoundly.”


    The dispute dragged on.


    .


    .


    .