Dana was still confused, but if Mr. Schwartz said so, she felt a little more at ease.


    ...


    After hanging up, Shanley turned to Felton. "How are the arrangements for


    protecting Saskia and J?"


    "All set, sir. However..." Felton hesitated for a moment. "Mr. Steele''s men joined in unexpectedly."


    "Melvin?" Shanley looked up, his voice deepening.


    "Yes, sir."


    "Fine," Shanley said with a faint smile. "Don''t worry about his people. Just make sure ours are on their toes."


    "Yes, sir," Felton nodded respectfully.


    Just as he finished his report, Shanley''s phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.


    "Grandma."


    "So, how is it going?" Hannah asked impatiently as soon as he answered. "Has Juniper agreed to go out with you yet?"


    He had said he was waiting because she was still in school and it felt inappropriate. But the exams were over now, so what was the hold-up?


    Shanley pinched the bridge of his nose again, replying wearily, “I haven''t found the right moment to ask."


    "What?" Hannah''s voice shot up several decibels. "Shanley, can you please get your act together?


    School is about to start, and once Juniper is on campus, she''ll be surrounded by handsome, energetic young men.”


    "And you?" Hannah continued, her words firing like a machine gun. "You''ll be twenty-eight soon. If I were her, and I had to choose between you and a younger guy, I''d definitely pick the younger guy.”


    "You know what? I''ll ask her for you." Hannah adjusted her reading sses. "After all, your own father only managed tond your mother because I was the one who proposed. I know how this works."


    "Grandma, please don''t!" Shanley


    was genuinely rmed. "Juniper has a lot on her mind right now. I don''t want to add to her stress," he said patiently. "Don''t worry promise I''II market myself to her before any of those younger guys get a chance, okay?"


    Market himself? Hannah huffed, impressed by his self-awareness. "Well, you''d better hurry up," she threatened, her voice sharp. "If you let my granddaughter inw sli away, you can forget about ever calling me Grandma again


    "I know."


    Shanley hung up the phone with a resigned smile. The truth was, he was anxious too, but hecked the confidence and feared rejection.


    Besides, his assets were so vast that liquidating and organizing them was taking


    time. At thetest, everything would be sorted by his birthday.


    He wondered if this year, he might receive the most precious gift of his life.


    At the Wilcox estate, Trent''s face turned livid when he received J''s text message.


    "How could J know about the will?"


    "She knows about the will?" Trent''s father, Ezra shot to his feet. After


    reading the text, his expression hardened. "My father must have fost his mind, leaving two thirds of th Family fortune to an illegitimate child."


    “It looks like.....” Ezra sank back into his chair, a murderous glint in his eyes. "She


    ns to fight us for the inheritance."


    Her father had already been disowned, and it wasn''t even certain if J was a true Wilcox.


    “Trent, your grandfather''s health is failing,” Ezra said coldly. “Your original n isn''t going to work anymore."


    The initial idea was to trick J into returning to the Wilcox family before she turned eighteen. As her guardian, Ezra could then legally transfer the inheritance to his own name.


    But now... if they couldn''t solve the problem, they had to eliminate the person causing it.