His voice sounded calm, yet the pressure hidden behind those words instantly caused the atmosphere to freeze.
Mrs. Almond’s expression darkened imdiately. Her face twisted with displeasure as she pointed at Lana emotionally.
"She is our daughter. It is only right for us to lecture you, you are an outsider..."
Before she could finish speaking, Jones suddenly interrupted her with an icy chuckle.
"An outsider? You all are outsiders. She is related to ."
"You... we are prominent figures..." Mrs. Almond began.
Jones calmly adjusted his sleeves before speaking in an indifferent tone.
"I belong to a very powerful family as well. Do you really want to know which family?"
The mont those words left his mouth, both Mr. and Mrs. Almond froze completely.
Their faces instantly turned pale.
Of course, they wanted to regain their relationship with Lana and continue acting as though they were caring parents.
However, if they offended soone powerful who clearly supported Lana, the consequences could easily destroy their business partnerships.
The fear of losing benefits imdiately suppressed their arrogance.
They exchanged nervous glances before finally forcing stiff smiles onto their faces.
Mr. Almond took a deep breath and spoke with a strained expression. "What exactly do you want?"
Jones glanced at them coldly. "For now, I want all of you to leave and never contact Lana."
Mrs. Almond’s eyes widened instantly.
"No, I cannot. Lana is my daughter..."
Her voice trembled dramatically as tears ford in her eyes.
"I have not seen my precious daughter for half a year. Do you even know how heartbroken I have been?"
At that exact mont, Leonardo rushed over furiously, his face burning with humiliation.
"Mother! Father! What are you doing?!"
He almost scread the words out loud, utterly embarrassed by their behavior.
The surrounding team mbers stared at the Almond couple as though they were watching so overdramatic television series unfold right before their eyes.
After all, everyone still clearly rembered how Mr. and Mrs. Almond had publicly introduced Brenda as their true pride while completely ignoring Lana’s existence.
Yet now, they were acting as though they had always cherished Lana deeply.
The hypocrisy was almost laughable.
So people imdiately began gossiping among themselves.
"The Almond family truly has no sha."
Another person snorted softly.
"My younger sister studies at the sa university as Lana. She told that the Almond family once demanded thirty million dollars from Lana as compensation."
The mont those words spread, everyone exchanged scandalized looks.
"Seriously?"
"What kind of parents even do that?"
"They are basically a bunch of scoundrels."
The whispers stabbed into Leonardo like sharp knives. His face beca uglier and uglier with every passing second.
He truly could not believe that his own parents were humiliating him publicly like this.
"Mother! Father! Stop it already!"
Unfortunately, neither of them paid any attention to him.
Instead, Mr. Almond, Billy, looked toward Lana with an awkward smile on his face.
"Lana, shall we speak privately for a mont? There are many things I truly want to talk about."
Lana let out a cold chuckle.
"Unfortunately, I do not want to hear any of those things."
Her eyes turned completely emotionless.
"I have already shown you enough rcy. Just leave alone."
At that mont, Lana genuinely began regretting the fact that she still had not taken revenge against the Almond family.
They continued causing her trouble again and again like disgusting flies that refused to disappear.
’Looks like I truly need to spend so energy dealing with them properly this ti.’
The mont that thought crossed her mind, her expression beca even colder and more determined.
anwhile, completely unaware of the tragic fate waiting for them, Billy and Alice exchanged helpless glances.
Finally, Alice gritted her teeth and decided to use her final trump card.
"Fine. We will leave."
She slowly nodded before continuing softly, "But before we go, I want to give you sothing."
With trembling fingers, she carefully took out an old photo album and handed it toward Lana.
Lana hesitated briefly before finally accepting it.
The album felt slightly worn out beneath her fingertips.
Alice slowly opened it for her.
The mont Lana saw the photographs inside, she beca stunned.
Her pupils trembled slightly.
She had always believed that during her childhood, especially considering how biased her parents were, they would never have bothered preserving any of her mories.
Yet surprisingly, the album was filled with countless photographs of her childhood.
There were pictures of her smiling brightly while holding stuffed animals, pictures of her covered in cake cream during birthdays, and even pictures of her sleeping peacefully while clutching a tiny blanket.
In almost every photo, she looked genuinely happy.
Even Mr. and Mrs. Almond had seed unusually attached to her back then. The innocent little girl in those pictures had once filled their cold household with warmth and color.
However, everything had changed once the company beca unstable.
Slowly, Billy and Alice began prioritizing benefits above emotions.
As for Lana, they subconsciously abandoned her.
Now, looking back at those photographs, overwhelming regret filled their hearts like poison.
’If only we had not been so biased... If only we had treated her fairly... Maybe we would not have lost her completely.’
Just as they were drowning in those thoughts, Lana calmly closed the album and held it firmly in her hands.
"In exchange for this album, I will allow both of you to live for two more years."
The mont those cold words left her mouth, Alice’s entire expression changed dramatically.
Even Billy felt his breathing beco uneven for a brief mont.
Although Lana spoke in a calm tone, there was sothing terrifyingly serious hidden behind those words, as if she were not joking at all.
Lana then lowered her eyes slightly before continuing in a detached voice.
"Since everything has already been said and done, I will take my leave now."
Seeing her turn around so decisively, Billy instinctively stepped forward as though he wanted to stop her.
However, before he could say anything, Leonardo suddenly intercepted him.
"Enough already."
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