Frank froze for a moment atn’s question, then suddenly seemed to realize something. He quickly asked, “Ashton, could it be that this whole thing was deliberately exposed by those people?”


    Although Frank had not seen much of Briar recently, he knew a great deal about her, mostly from what he had heard from Connor.


    He knew Briar was not only an unfathomably powerful figure but also had a tragically pitiful backstory.


    Just hearing about it had made him furious. How could a man as protective as Ashton possibly stand idly by?


    Of course, the Wade family’s resources in Shoneport were ced unconditionally at Briar’s disposal. <b>But </b>there might be traitors within the Wade family.


    Those parasites wouldn’t just sit by and watch Ashton use the Wade family’s resources, only for the final result to be the crushing of other Wade family members.


    Exposing Ashton as not being a blood member of the Wade family was a <i>way </i>to muddy the waters and give those people a chance to slip away unnoticed. What a clever scheme.


    These two matters seemedpletely unrted, but once they seeded in their disruption, Ashton we lose his power in the Wade family. Even if Briar tracked down the masterminds of theb incident, she wouldn’t be able to do anything to them. It was a vicious scheme.


    Seeing that Frank had figured out the key point, Ashton just smiled and patted his shoulder. “Looks like our little Frank has grown up.”


    Frank was speechless.


    He was 22 years old. How was he still little?


    Still, he frowned and asked, “Ashton, you’re just going to let them take shots at the Wade family like this? You’re not angry?”


    The smile in Ashton’s eyes faded, his gaze turning deep as he looked out toward the courtyard. “Why should I be angry? If anything, what they’ve done only helped me make my decision.”


    ‘What decision?‘ Frank looked curious. But seeing Ashton clearly didn’t want to say more, he wisely kept quiet.


    Frank turned to Briar, who was calmly crunching on chips on the sofa. He leaned in closer. Ashton <b>is </b>getting bullied. You really have nothing to say?”


    Briar offered him the half–eaten box of chips. Seeing that he didn’t stand on ceremony and <b>just </b>grabbed <b>a </b>handful, she grinned. “What should I say? Maybe wish them a smooth journey?”


    Brandon, who knew Ashton had everything under control, had just raised his <b>cup </b><b>for </b><b>a </b><b>sip</b><b>. </b>When <b>he </b><b>heard </b>what Briar said, he spat out his coffee.


    Ian, quick on his <b>feet</b>, dodged in time. “Damn it, Brandon! Was <b>that </b>really <b>necessary</b>?”


    2200


    Brandon wiped his mouth with a tissue and waved apologetically at fan. “Sorry, I was so happy I conada’s help


    it


    He wasn’t exaggerating. Briar’s words were exactly what he had been thinking,


    Some of the Wade family members had simply lived toofortably for too long, never having sufferer real hardship, which made them think managing a giant like the Wade Group would be easy. So they schemed and plotted endlessly to take Ashton down and take his ce.


    But from the very first day he took over the Wade Group, Ashton had expected that the family wouldn’t give up so easily. That was why he spent over half a year kicking every Wade family member out of thepany’s senior management positions.


    Except for Jalen, all other Wade family members were relegated to mid–level management roles.


    What they didn’t know was that the majority of thepany’s business was nowpletely in Ashton’s hands, with two–thirds of its contractsing from his private ventures.


    If Ashton ever stepped down as CEO, many of those projects would either be suspended or outright terminated.


    At that point, the Wade Group would face massive penalty fees for breach of contract, causing a cash flow crisis. Whether thepany could even continue to operate would depend entirely on Ashton’s mood


    This was Ashton, ruthless and cruel, even to the point of sabotaging himself.


    Ian was also curious. “Mr. Wade, can you give me a hint? How are you nning to deal with those rats?


    Ashton nced at Ian with amusement. “What? Aren’t the people from theb incident enough for you to deal with? You want to get involved in the Wade family’s business too?”


    Ashton’s ambiguous smile maden squirm. He then caught a secret re from Briar, making him worry that his good intentions would bepletely unappreciated.


    He quickly exined, “No, Mr. Wade. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not interested in your family’s internal affairs. I just want to help Briar get some payback.”


    Ashton knewn didn’t have the guts to interfere in the Wade family’s business. His question had just been <b>a </b>gentle warning. “The Wade family’s matter… You and the people behind you had better stay out of them. Otherwise, don’t me me if you get bitten.”


    That was already a pretty heavy warning. But anyone who understood the situation should get the message loud and clear.


    A chill ran down Ian’s spine, and a fierce glint shed in his eyes. “Mr. Wade, does this mean there’s a traitor among our people?”


    Ashton neither confirmed nor denied, simply changing the subject. “Brandon, it’s gettingte. Have someone prepare dinner.”


    Brandon stood up. “Yes, I’ll have dinner sent over right away.”


    a


    Jan nced down at his watch. It wasn’t even five o’clock yet, but he knew he wouldn’t get the answers he wanted from Ashton.


    So he sidled back over to Briar and asked quietly, “Briar, if we really do have a traitor among us, what do we


    do?”


    Briar chuckled, “Do what we should do, of course. You need me to teach you that?”


    “No, but aren’t you worried at all?”n’s heart was itching with impatience.


    Briar just shrugged. “What’s the rush? We’re not the ones who should be nervous. Once tonight is over, you can check everyst one of them if you want.”


    Jan’s eyes went wide. “Briar… you’re not seriously nning to post tonight’s assassination op in our internal group chat, are you?” <fn46d2> ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? find(?)ovel</fn46d2>


    He thought, ‘Wow, this is getting out of hand!”


    Briar shed a mysterious smile. “It’s fun, isn’t it?”


    Ian fumed inwardly. ‘Fun? My ass!‘


    If the traitor Ashton mentioned really turned out to be one of the eight instructors from DDC Vanguar Mercenary Special Operations Base, it wouldn’t just shock them. It might lead to the entire base being pur in blood.


    And Briar wasn’t afraid of Louieing after her over this.


    Purging traitors from the DDC Vanguard was one of the duties of the three main instructors anyway.


    Jan silently prayed for the traitor. Of all the people they could have betrayed, they had to betray Briar and Ashton. It was a pure death wish, and they even dug their own grave to bury themselves.


    When tonight was over, he just hoped that the traitor could at least lie in peace.


    Briar had been so busy these past few days tracking down the people behind theboratory incident that she’d been barely eating. Ashton had noticed.


    So he had Brandon prepare avish dinner in advance, personally supervising to make sure Briar ate. Only after she’d finished her food did he finally let her go.


    Slumped in her chair, Briar rubbed her full stomach. “I’m stuffed. What if I can’t runter?”


    Ashton replied, “What are you worried about? I’ll carry you.”