?Chapter 471:


    “Mr. Evans, what drove you back to this cursed ce?”


    Jason lifted his gaze to the moon-drunk sky and released a breath that carried the weight of unfinished business. “There was something I should’ve handledst night, but Cole’s condition couldn’t wait, so I put it off until now.”


    Jason’s eyes fell from the heavens and fixed on Lanny with pregnant intensity. “Do you recall how many years you’ve worked beside me?”


    “Twenty years,” Lanny replied. “I’ve remained at your side since you turned six.”


    Jason offered the faintest acknowledgment. “My mother selected you as my childhoodpanion and then elevated you to personal assistant. I’ve always treasured what existed between us.”


    Warmth bloomed across Lanny’s features at these words. “I entered this world with nothing. If your mother hadn’t rescued me from that orphanage, I’d have vanished into obscurity. My loyalty to you runs deeper than blood—eternal and unbreakable.”


    Jason’sughter emerged cold and sharp as winter steel. “Loyal to me? No, Lanny. Your loyalty belongs entirely to my mother.”


    Ice crystallized in Lanny’s veins as he stumbled over his response. “But… y-you and your mother share the same blood, the same cause. Serving her means serving you.”


    “You’re mistaken.” Jason’s stare could have cut a diamond. “She birthed me, and I would sacrifice everything for her protection. But we don’t march as one army. Her desires don’tmand my soul.”


    Lanny finally sensed something was off. His…


    Jason’s sharp mind quickly pieced together the fragments, forming a horrifying picture. Under Jason’s relentless scrutiny, Lanny’s body betrayed him, shaking violently.


    “Jeff is still too young to understand,” Jason said, his voice thick with desperation. “Your mother invests all her hopes in your sess. Every move she makes is for your ultimate triumph! Just as everything I’ve done has been to elevate you!”


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    Desperation sharpened Jason’s voice as he added, “Just as I’ve sacrificed everything to make sure you seed!”


    Jason’s boot mmed into Lanny’s chest, sending him crashing to his knees with bone-crushing force. His gaze turned into two unyielding ciers of judgment.


    “Lanny, don’t mask your betrayal with noble intentions and expect my gratitude,” Jason’s voice was cold and merciless. “I feel no appreciation for your treachery—only fury that burns like acid in my veins.”


    “Mr. Evans…” Lanny’s eyes lifted, pleading desperately, but Jason remained unmoved, a mountain of unshakable resolve.


    “If Death Thorn hadn’t intervened at the crucial moment, Cole would be rotting in the ground,” Jason continued, his voice hardening with every word. “My mother orchestrated the entire plot, and you were her weapon. If you seeded, did you expect me to live with that guilt and self-reproach for the rest of my life?”


    “Mr. Evans, please don’t think like this,” Lanny urged, pressing forward with renewed desperation. “Your brilliance is undeniable, your talents unmatched. You could im the role of the head of the Evans family without question. Why stay in Cole’s shadow? If you took control, your mother would be the most respected woman in the family.”


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