She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 797

...

Right now, Baldwin's family was facing a mountain of insurmountable problems.

The only reason they had returned to Harmony Country in the first place was to use Joanna to play the "loving mother" card, allowing them to monitor Lucian's every move. They intended to feed that intel to hostile nations, manufacturing crises and border conflicts so that Ares Global's weaponry would sell out, netting them astronomical profits.

It was a flawless plan on paper, but every single link in the chain had spectacularly broken.

Joanna's role as the mother was completely useless. Their greed in wanting to seize the Shapiro empire was painfully obvious, and their current miserable state proved the mission was an absolute failure.

"Ares is already furious. But Lucian is impossible to handle, largely because of the woman backing him," Baldwin sighed heavily. "If we just abandon the mission and run away after botching this so badly, they will not let us live."

Channing scowled. "Yale Nash can barely save himself right now. The President is watching his every move; he doesn't dare do anything. What are we supposed to do?"

Joanna hesitated before offering weakly, "Maybe... maybe we should go back and beg Lucian."

"Mom, are you still delusional? Lucian doesn't need you and he despises you. Plus, you've blatantly favored me this whole time," Channing spat, highlighting the harsh truth even he could see.

"You gave birth to him, but you never raised him or cared for him. A man like that isn't going to be swayed by mere blood. He probably hates your guts."

Joanna's face went white, and she fell silent.

"I'll take Luna out for a walk to get her mind off things," Channing muttered. "I can't have her complaining about me to her father. I have to keep her happy."

From Luna, they had learned a critical piece of intelligence: Harmony Country had recently quintupled its border security. It was nearly impossible for her father to smuggle operatives in to help, and equally impossible for her to be smuggled out.

Luna knew better than to completely burn bridges with Channing. Being entirely alone in a foreign country was dangerous. She accepted his olive branch, and the two headed to a discreet, upscale sushi lounge.

The low-key izakaya was tucked away at the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of Metropia, its wooden beaded curtains separating it from the city's noise.

Inside a private tatami room, Channing carefully placed a premium slice of fatty tuna onto Luna's plate. The warm, amber lighting and the slight buzz from the sake finally helped ease the tension Luna had been carrying.

"A Japanese classmate of mine is a silent partner here. All the ingredients are flown in fresh from the Tsukiji market this morning."

Channing watched her expression, keeping his voice gentle. "I know you've been under a lot of stress lately. I mishandled my family's situation, and it dragged you down with me."

Luna took a sip of sake, forcing a stiff smile. "Words don't fix anything. Let's just eat."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify