Secret Scion

Garrett stared at Freya for a few seconds with an enigmatic smile on his face. It made Freya feel somewhat nervous.

Julian also looked at Garrett's expression carefully. It was clear that the scion from the Capital City was unhappy. Luckily, it was Freya who had said those words. Even if she were to offend Garrett, that had nothing to do with him.

When they saw Garrett's enigmatic expression, everyone dared not say a word. The atmosphere within the private room instantly became somewhat uneasy.

After a moment, Garrett stopped staring at her and simply smiled as he held the wine glass in his hand and said, "Rather than staying neutral, it's better to say that you want to take advantage of our conflict. What if I refuse, Ms. Sullivan?"

To be honest, Freya was quite worried about Garrett. However, her grandmother's orders were clear, and she dared not to do anything that would go against her will. She then said, "There's no need to force us. My grandma's the one who made the decision. Even if I were to side with you, the rest of the Sullivans would not. Please understand, Master Schmidt."

"Oh, really?" Garrett sipped the wine, and the expression on his face became even more undecipherable.

"My apologies, Master Schmidt. This is not something that I can decide on. It's getting late. I have to go home now. Goodbye, everyone." With that, Freya immediately walked away. She was not going to stay for even another second.

Thump!

Garrett slammed the glass wine on the table, and the other three that were there felt their hearts skip a beat.

"Mr. Hoffman, is your decision the same as the Sullivans?" Garrett removed his glasses and wiped the lenses.

"Master Schmidt..." Julian could feel Garrett's anger. He could feel the heat from his ire raging in the private room. After a long while, he then said with a frown, "Master Schmidt, you can really take care of Asher?"

"Of course," Garrett said with confidence.

"Fine, then the Hoffmans are yours to command as well," Julian said after taking a deep breath. "Julian, you are more far-sighted than Castor and Freya. Don't worry, nothing can go wrong." Garrett finally let out a smile as he put his glasses back on again. However, brutality raged in his eyes. "There's no such thing as neutrality to me. If they're not our friends, then they're our enemies. We'll make an example out of the Sullivans."

When Noelle and Livia returned to the Stewards, Noelle wanted to greet Carter when they passed by Carter's living quarter.

However, just as they were approaching the room, they heard Erick's voice from inside, "Grandpa, do you know that we're in deep trouble now?"

"I heard that Asher has been staying in Rollinsford for the past two years because he's hiding from his enemies' pursuit. Asher is not some Master Sander, he's a Crawford from the Capital City. While the Crawfords are also a large household, the household that Asher has offended is much more powerful. The household that he has offended is the Schmidts. They've already sent people to Rollinsford to deal with him, and he said that they will destroy Asher. Grandpa, think about it. Will the Schimdts let us survive if they know about the relationship between Asher and us?" Erick said in a rush.

"Where did you hear this from?"

"It's already going around in our circle. Only you don't know about it," Erick said. "Grandpa, we cannot let Noelle become the Stewards' matriarch. Otherwise, we're really doomed!"

"Hogwash! The Stewards aren't that weak," Carter yelled at Erick, but he himself was having mixed feelings about it too.

Originally, he thought that befriending Asher would help them survive the current crisis. He never thought that it would attract an even bigger problem.

"Erick, have you learned about the Crawfords and the Schmidts before this?"

At this time, Noelle's voice came from outside the door.

Both Erick and Carter were surprised, and Eric cried out in shock, "Noelle? Why are you here?"

"I'm asking you. Do you know about the two families?" Noelle asked as she walked into the room.

Erick did not understand what Noelle meant, but he shook his head honestly and said, "Very little."

"Since you don't know how strong they are, how can you be so sure that the Crawfords aren't as strong as the Schmidts? Are you trying to spread rumors, or are you trying to be a scaremonger?"

"Everyone in our circle is saying that. I'm not the only one who believes that the Crawfords aren't as good as the Schmidts," Erick snorted coldly. "Of course you're happy since Asher vouched for you to be the Stewards' matriarch, and you don't want anyone to talk about him behind his back. Otherwise, this will hurt whatever is in your interest. However, you have to understand that this has to do with our survival! This is not a child's game! I refuse to have the Stewards stand with Asher and you becoming the matriarch!"

"How ridiculous! Who in Rollinsford really knows about the Crawfords and the Schmidts? Even Radley has probably only seen the surface. If there's someone who knows about them, it has to be Castor. He has worked in the capital city for two years, right? Naturally, he would know better about the strengths between the Crawfords and Schmidts. Do you know that Castor has decided to stand with Asher then? This means that Castor believes in Asher. In other words, the Crawfords."

Noelle's words shut Erick down completely.

"Grandpa, I can give up on becoming the matriarch, but I hope that the Stewards will not betray Asher again. Otherwise, the Stewards will truly be on our own from then on," Noelle said to Carter.

It was not easy to get this opportunity for the Stewards. Carter knew that, and he knew that they could not lose Asher as a supporter. Otherwise, the Leonards would easily force them to their deaths.

After thinking about it for a long time, only then did Carter say with mixed feelings, "Noelle, from now on, you're the Stewards' new matriarch. You'll have the power to decide on everything after this. It's late. You should go back to rest."

Noelle could not help but let out a sigh of relief after hearing that. If the Stewards were to ruin their relationship with Asher once again, it would no longer be possible to repair it. Meanwhile, Erick became extremely unhappy and said as he lost control of his emotions, "Grandpa, what's wrong with you? How can you make a wrong decision at this juncture? You know that working with Asher will only lead us to a dead-end, but you are choosing that path anyway! I'm not convinced!"

"It doesn't matter that you're not convinced! Who else can you blame but yourself?!" Carter glared at Erick before turning into his bedroom.

With that, Erick turned to leave the room as well.

Erick cut off Noelle in a few steps and said with his eyes red, "Noelle, don't think I'll be afraid of you just because Grandpa made you the matriarch! If you force my hand, I can do anything!" "Is that so? Give it a try then. I'm now the matriarch, and I have the authority to strike your name out of our family tree." The only reason that Noelle would tolerate Erick in the first place was because of her grandpa's love for him. However, things were different now. She was the matriarch, and there was no reason for her to worry about Erick.

With that, Noelle turned around and left without saying a word.

Erick could only grit his teeth as his mind became obsessed with anger.

Noelle, you're the one that fucking forced me! This is all your fault for forcing me to abandon our familial relationship!

The next day, Asher received a call from Castor when he woke up, and he found out that Garrett had gathered Julian and Sullivan, and the Hoffmans had joined Garrett.

It was not out of Asher's expectations when he heard that. In fact, it was within his expectations. Originally, he thought that both the Hoffmans and the Sullivans would stand with Garrett. He did not expect the Sullivans to remain neutral.

Castor then said that the Sullivans would no doubt be in trouble since they turned down Garrett's invitation. They could not miss this chance. They might be able to grab the Sullivans to be on their side if they were to communicate.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Asher then said that they were in no rush. It was not time yet. Garrett had drunk too much and went home late. As such, it was already in the afternoon when he woke up.

He had not woken up for long when there was a knock on the door. Then, Mikaela's voice came from the other side. "Garrett, are you awake? You drank a bit too much last night, so I had the kitchen prepare some chicken soup for you."

By the end of their night-long drinking, Garrett allowed Mikaela to address him using his first name. It was something that Mikaela wanted all along.

"Come in. Thank you."

"No need to be so polite, Garrett," Mikaela said as she carried the bowl of chicken soup in. "It's still warm, so drink it."

Garrett's stomach was not feeling well, so he began eating the soup without hesitation. Mikaela then sat on a chair next to Garrett. She was thinking about something as she looked at Garrett. After hesitating for a few moments, she then asked, "Garrett, how are you going to deal with the Sullivans? Is there something you need us to do?"

"They're just a small fry. No need to dispatch so many people. I have my own arrangements," Garrett said calmly.