Chapter 163 Do You Miss


    Her


    Corrine entered her grandfather''s car.


    She stole a nce at him, noting the slight sternness in his expression. She obediently greeted, "Good evening, Grandpa."


    "Something so serious happened, and you didn''t even think to call me?" Carl huffed, but despite his scolding tone, his eyes held an unmistakable glimmer of concern.


    Corrine could tell he wasn''t truly upset, so she shed a bright, disarming smile. "I didn''t want to worry you, Grandpa. Besides, look at me now-I''m perfectly fine."


    As she spoke, she wrapped her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder, her voiceced with yful affection. “Grandpa, don''t be mad. I promise it won''t happen again."


    Carl looked down at his granddaughter snuggling up to him, and for a moment, it was as if he were seeing his beloved daughter instead.


    His cloudy eyes softened, and he gently ran his fingers through her silky hair. "You really do take after your mother."


    Corrine''s smile faltered slightly.


    It had been a long time since anyone had spoken of her mother.


    Both her uncles and grandfather avoided the topic, as if silence could erase the painful


    truth of her absence.


    "Do you miss her, Grandpa?" she asked softly, her fingers gently sping his hand.


    To her surprise, Carl shook his head. "I''ve never felt like she''s gone. She''s always been


    with me."


    Not long after they arrived back at the Ford family''s mansion, the other three men of


    the household returned as well.


    They gathered in Carl''s study.


    Carl sat with his hands resting on his cane, his gaze fixed on an oil painting hanging on


    the wall.


    It depicted a forest bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, a lone deer standing at its entrance, as if silently guiding-or perhaps warning-those who dared to step


    forward.


    The painting''s beauty held a strange, almost haunting allure.


    It wasn''t the work of a renowned artist, but that of Kiley, the cherished daughter of the Ford family.


    In the quiet, Jayden, the eldest, ‘spoke first. “I''ve erased everything to keep Corrine out


    of trouble."


    "Have you figured out who''s behind the reporters?" Carl asked, his gaze sweeping


    across his two sons and grandson. His voice was steady but sharp.


    Waldo answered, "They admitted they were following Leah Burgess'' orders."


    Carl reclined in his chair, setting his cane aside. He toyed with the jade ring on his


    thumb, his expression hardening. "Now that we know, you understand what needs to be done, right?"


    With the Ford family''s vast influence, the Burgess family was a small concern, not even worth a second nce.


    But Leah''s reckless targeting of Corrine meant there would be consequences.


    She thought she was acting in the shadows, but in Lyhaton, under the Ford family''s


    watchful eyes, there were no secrets.


    Waldo nodded. "By tomorrow, the Burgess family will be all over the front


    page."


    His voice was unnervingly calm, carrying a chilling certainty.


    In the cutthroat business world, no one was naive, and the Burgess family had


    survived the financial crisis not by chance, but by experience.


    Carl turned his attention to his grandson, Jules. "Handle Brevard quickly, so we don''t face moreplications."


    "Understood!" Jules responded.