Chapter 451
“I’ll get us a deal with the Eden Group,” Sofina announcement hit the room like a gunshot.
For a heartbeat, silence. Then the whole hall burst into laughter. Some people laughed so hard they clutched their stomachs, wiping tears from their eyes.
Everyone thought she’d lost her mind. Trying to steal Grandma Wolfsbane’s attention with that kind of nonsense?
Foolish. Desperate. Didn’t she know how to read the room?
The Wolfsbane family was on thin ice, and the Eden Group wasn’t just some local company-it was the largest Group in Winchester.
For a family like theirs, even being noticed by Eden was a miracle. To talk about deals was like a fly demanding a seat at the king’s table.
Beatrix smirked, her voice dripping with scorn. “Sofina Scheinwald, do you honestly think you can land a deal with the Eden Group? Keep dreaming. It’s impossible for someone like you p>
Annabella leaned forward, sneering. “Who do you think you are, Sofina? You think Eden Group belongs to your husband? Your recklessness will drag our family through the mud. You’re not even a real Wolfsbane-and yet you dare to use our name like you own it p>
Another relative chimed in, voice sharp. “Annabella’s right! If Eden Group turns her away, the whole city will laugh at us p>
Sofina felt her face heat up, blood rushing to her cheeks.
She could feel their eyes-mocking, cruel, pitying.
Her status in the family had never been strong, but now it sank to rock bottom.
She clenched her fists, wishing she could swallow the words back. Why had she listened to Alex? Why did she let him push her into this madness?
Her glare found him.
Alex met her eyes, then smiled faintly. He stepped forward, boots tapping against the marble floor.
Without hesitation, he climbed up onto the table again-like a man who didn’t care whose house he was standing in.
Alex stood tall in the center of the hall, ready to speak like a man standing before a courtroom-or a battlefield.
“Really,” he began, “the greatness of the Wolfsbane name seems ready to die with this generation p>
He looked around, scanning every face, then raised his hand toward the Baroness sitting at the head of the table.
“Before us sits the greatest Baroness the Wolfsbane family has ever had-the woman who carried your bloodline through fire and still stands unbroken. Yet none of you can see it. You call her a senile old woman, a fool chasing lost dreams. You say she’s greedy old bastard, obsessed with money p>
Baroness Wolfsbane’s lips twitched. She liked the sound of support-but the way Alex said it made her feel like she was being slapped and praised in the same breath.
Alex turned sharply toward Annabella. “And you, Annabella-you’re the real disgrace here. Your face being thrown out of Eden Group’s entrance is already viral across the damn city p>
“You’ve dragged the Wolfsbane name through the mud, and now when Sofina tries to clean it up, you laugh at her? You should just change your name to Asshole Bella. All you ever do is sneer and mock the ones who still have the guts to try-while you’re nothing but a disgrace to every human being p>
Annabella’s cheeks burned red, fury and humiliation flashing in her eyes. Being insulted like that—by a man the family still called a half-slave-was unbearable. Before she could speak, Alex had already cut her off, not giving her a chance to say a word. He turned to Beatrix next, pointing straight at her.
“And you-Beatrix. The
granddaughter the Baroness loves the most. She gave you everything-her trust, her pride, her blessings. And this is how you fepay her? By mocking her dreams by calling her a greedy old bastard Still chasing money at the edge of her grave p>
Beatrix froze—she never said that—but before she could protest, Alex cut her off.
“Drop the name ‘Beatrix’,” he said, voice like a blade. “Call yourself Bastard—it suits you. And your husband? The man siphoning off the Wolfsbane fortune isn’t Conrad. He’s Coward p>
“He doesn’t respect the Baroness’s will. He doesn’t have the courage to stand at the front when she gives an order. He’d never walk into Eden Group’s halls and fight for her dream like a man whose life depends on it p>
Alex sneered, “No-he hides behind his wife’s skirts, trembling while others carry the weight he should’ve borne p>
But Alex was relentless. His voice cut through the tension like a whip. “And you, too-Felicia p>
The woman flinched.
“Your daughter Sofina wants to bring back the greatness of the Wolfsbane name. She’s the only one with the courage to stand up and got. Yet instead of supporting, her or the Baroness-you just sit there, quiet as stone, doing nothing. You’re letting them all rot while you pretend you don’t see it p>
Alex’s words burned hotter with every breath. He practically spat them in everyone’s faces, showing no mercy, no hesitation.
“All of you,” he said, “you’re a damn shame wearing human skin. A disgrace to your own blood. When Baroness Wolfsbane tells you to die, you’re supposed to bow your heads and say yes-for all the kindness she’s ever given you p>
“But no―you don’t do it! The moment she asks you to stand for something greater, to bring honor back to your name, you all turn your backs and crawl into your holes like cowards p>
“And when someone kind and brave like Sofina steps up to take that burden, you laugh at her. You tear her down. You’re supposed to be family, but you’ve become graves for each other-burying every spark of courage the moment it appears p>
“Tell me what the hell do you people even believe about the Wolfsbane name? You only see it as a curse, a stain you can’t wash off. You think Wolfsbane is doomed to crawl at the bottom, disgraced and mocked by every other family in Winchester p>
“I’ll tell you what I believe,” Alex continued. “I believe in my wife. I believe Sofina can build this collaboration with the Eden Group. I believe in the Baroness’s dream. And I’ll put my own neck on the line to make it happen if I have to p>
He looked around the table. “While you wallow in the mud, my wife and I will reach for the stars p>
“But what about you? Are you really Wolfsbanes? Because from where I’m standing, none of you have the heart or the spine to carry that name You’re a pack of cowards hiding behind old money and hollow pride leeches living off the scraps of your ancestors. You’re a disgrace to your own bloodline… pathetic, lower than maggots crawling through the dirt p>
The room fell dead silent.
Then Alex stepped down from the table, calm and steady. He walked back to Sofina’s side, pulled out her chair, and sat quietly behind her.
Alex smiled-slow, sharp, and satisfied. He’d just spat in all their faces, and the
best part was-they took it.
Not a word back, not a single protest. The silence was pure bliss to him.
Alex suddenly spoke, loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear.
“Of all the sad words ever spoken by tongue or pen,” he said, his voice echoing,
“the saddest are these: It might have been p>
He looked toward Sofina, his tone steady but heavy with meaning.
“If only she’s given the chance-if Sofina succeeds in forging that collaboration
with the Eden Group the fate of the Wolfsbane family will change forever. Money will flow like a river, and Wolfsbane will become the number-one baron in Winchester p>
The room went still. And for the first time that night, Baroness Wolfsbane found herself caught—drawn in by Alex’s words, ensnared by his fiery conviction. She didn’t even realize it, but she’d already stepped straight into his game.