"Shut up!" Alex interrupted her in a sharp voice. "I don''t want to hear any more of your twisted nonsense! You''re going toe clean today no matter what!"


    "Alex, don''t you dare threaten us! We''re your elders!" Felicia shouted, trying to sound tough. "If you so much asy a finger on us, my son won''t let you off!"


    Alex sneered. "Your son? You really think he can take on the entire Hastings family?"


    "You..." Felicia was momentarily speechless.


    Alex lowered his voice, adopting a more measured tone. "As long as you publicly clear Madam Burke''s name, I''ll let this go. Otherwise..."


    He deliberately paused, his gaze turning icy as it swept over them. "You''ll have to deal with the consequences."


    Felicia and Shirley exchanged nervous nces, panic flickering in their eyes.


    "Are you threatening us, Alex?" Shirley questioned in a voiceced with false bravado.


    "Think whatever you want." Alex shrugged indifferently. "I''m just stating a fact."


    "You" Shirley was about to retort when Felicia grabbed her arm.


    "Fine, we agree," Felicia said through gritted teeth, finally giving in.


    Alex nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I expect you to keep your word."


    "But..." Felicia''s tone suddenly shifted. "We have a condition."


    "What condition?" He frowned.


    "You have to give us some money," Felicia said shamelessly. "Not much, just a million dors."


    Alex could hardly believe his ears. This old witch was insatiable.


    "Are you ckmailing me?" he asked coldly.


    "Call it whatever you want," Felicia said, utterly unfazed. "But without one million dors, there will be


    no


    public statement."


    Alex took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.


    "I''ll give you 500 grand," he countered.


    "No way! One million dors and not a penny less!" Felicia was firm.


    Alex clenched his fists. "I can give you 800 grand," he offered again.


    "One million!" Felicia refused to budge.


    It was clear there was no point in arguing further.


    With a cold snort, Alex stormed out of the Ashford residence, running a frustrated hand through his hair.


    She wanted 800,000 dors! Just how greedy could that old hag be?


    He was debating whether to just pay up and get it over with when he spotted Celine Hayes strolling by with her grocery basket.


    Celine was famous for having ears everywhere-nothing happened in the neighborhood without her knowing.


    The moment she saw Alex, her eyes lit up. She hurried over and asked in a hushed, conspiratorial tone, "Oh my, young man, who are you? How are you rted to the Ashford family?"


    Alex was in no mood for small talk, but then an idea struck him. Celine


    JJ 33 king information hube


    she could be useful


    He forced a smile and said, "Ma''am, I''m Serena''s boyfriend."