Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Bianca Kane had already prepped her son, feeding him one terrifying lie after another.

The moment Joel Kane heard the words "bone marrow donation," he reacted like a startled cat, his face turning pale as his body trembled uncontrollably.

"I’m not going with you! I want to stay with my mom."

He yelled at Joseph Shaw, his voice a mixture of fear and defiance.

"You have to come back with me. Your sister’s life depends on you."

Joseph Shaw reached out, grabbed the boy’s arm, and forcibly pulled him from Bianca Kane’s embrace.

He screamed and struggled. "I don’t want to donate bone marrow! I’ll get sick, it’ll stunt my growth, and I’ll die!"

The ideas Bianca Kane had drilled into his head made him believe that donating bone marrow was a terrifying ordeal.

Joseph Shaw picked him up and held him steady, patiently explaining, "You’ll just stay in the hospital for a few days, be on an IV, have a little blood drawn, and then you’ll just need to rest for a while. You won’t get sick, it won’t stunt your growth, and you absolutely will not die."

"You’re lying to me!"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Bianca Kane shot up, trying to snatch Joel Kane back, but Preston Chase shoved her back down onto the sofa.

Livid, she shrieked at Joseph Shaw, "What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to force Joel to donate his bone marrow? That’s illegal! I do not consent to this donation. Without a parent’s permission, the hospital won’t dare touch him. Let him go right now, or I’m calling the police!"

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone and made a show of dialing 911.

Alaric Blackwood pushed her hand down. "Why not hear my terms first?"

Bianca Kane froze for a moment, then lowered her phone. "I’m listening."

"Wynn Jade Jewelry pulls its new products. Heart of the Ocean will not press charges and will guarantee the lawsuit is dropped. Also..."

Alaric Blackwood was only halfway through his sentence when Bianca Kane lost her patience. "You call that a sincere offer? And you have the nerve to present it as a condition?"

She scoffed. "If anyone’s pulling products, it should be Heart of the Ocean pulling its Nine Stone Series and dropping the lawsuit. You have the audacity to ask *me* to pull *my* new products? You’ve got some nerve!"

Alaric Blackwood, having expected this reaction, just smiled calmly. "So, you’re saying that as long as Heart of the Ocean drops the lawsuit and pulls the Nine Stone Series, you’ll agree to let Joel go to the hospital to save Sophie?"

"That’s just one of the conditions."

Bianca Kane was well aware of the impact of the Nine Stone Series. If the case went to court and Sophie Shaw won, the blow to Wynn Jade Jewelry, and indeed the entire Kane Group, would be devastating. Not only would the long-standing brand’s reputation be ruined, but they would also lose countless new and loyal customers.

"Then what are your other conditions? Name them."

"I want ten percent of Blackwood Group’s shares. I also want a piece of Dragonstone Mall. And I want to acquire Heart of the Ocean for less than half its market price."

At this, Alaric Blackwood’s expression darkened. He realized Bianca Kane wasn’t just greedy—she was insatiable. She even wanted shares of the Blackwood Group.

"Heart of the Ocean is not on the table. You can have the rest."

He made his final concession.

But Bianca Kane just gave him a cold stare. "My terms are non-negotiable. Not one less."

"Aren’t shares in the Blackwood Group enough? Heart of the Ocean is useless to you, isn’t it?"

’It’s true, it was useless to her.’ Bianca Kane only wanted Heart of the Ocean to cut Sophie Shaw off at the knees and make her miserable.

"I’ll say it again: my terms are non-negotiable. Not one less."

Alaric Blackwood was silent for a moment, then he smiled. "Then there’s nothing more to discuss."

"So you don’t care if your wife lives or dies?"

"Heart of the Ocean is my bottom line. I can’t give it to you."

"Then you can just let your wife die."

Alaric Blackwood’s brow furrowed. He was done humoring her. He turned to Joseph Shaw and said, "File for divorce immediately. I’ll help you fight for custody of Joel. Once you leave the Kane Group, they will lose the lawsuit over the new products—decisively. When they lose and public opinion turns against them, shareholders will pull out, and the stock price will plummet. At that point, we’ll likely be able to acquire the company for less than half its market value. I’ve already decided to invest in Heart of the Ocean. When the time comes, Heart of the Ocean will acquire the Kane Group, transforming it from a small company into another titan of the jewelry industry. Rather than slaving away at the Kane Group, you should come to Heart of the Ocean and help Sophie manage her company. With so many departments, I’m sure there’s a place for you."

Joseph Shaw nodded.

’This time, he was going all in. He had to save his daughter, no matter what.’

’Years ago, he had only thought of himself. He was too selfish, blinded by hatred, and had missed the chance to save Mina Ford. He would not make the same mistake a second time.’

’If anything were to happen to Sophie Shaw, he wouldn’t be able to face Mina Ford in the afterlife.’

Alaric Blackwood’s words made Bianca Kane’s temples throb. She glared at the arrogant young man before her, her eyes churning with a towering rage. "Alaric Blackwood! You ruined my uncle, and now you have the audacity to come after my Kane Group?"

"I tried to negotiate with you. You refused. So now I have to play hardball."

"Do you think the Kane Group is some small-time operation you can just swallow up whenever you please?"

"Let’s find out."

"You—"

Bianca Kane was trembling with rage. She shot up and forcibly snatched her son back from Joseph Shaw’s arms.

"Joel, these people are all bullying Mommy! Your father has teamed up with outsiders to take over our family’s company! Your father is a bad man! They’re all bad people!"

Her shrieking voice terrified Joel Kane, and he burst into tears.

Joseph Shaw reached out to take his son and comfort him, but Joel forcefully slapped his hand away.

His son screamed at him through his tears. He might be young, but Joel Kane understood what his parents getting divorced and his family’s company being taken over by outsiders would mean.

Mother and son were a hysterical, sobbing mess.

Alaric Blackwood clasped his hands behind his back, looking down at the pair huddled on the sofa. "Ms. Kane," he said coolly, "I find it utterly incomprehensible that you’ve always treated Sophie like an enemy."

"She may not be your blood, but she is your stepdaughter. You don’t have to love her. You don’t have to feel anything for her at all. But how can you take away her right to live? How can you fill Joel’s head with the idea that donating bone marrow will make him sick, stunt his growth, and even kill him? Are we really your enemies? Or have you forgotten about Conor Sullivan—the man whose legs you had broken all those years ago?"

Alaric Blackwood’s words shot through Bianca Kane like an electric current. She shuddered violently. The thought that if the Kane Group was truly finished, she and her daughter would be left completely without protection... If Conor Sullivan wanted revenge, it would be child’s play for him.

A chill of delayed fear ran down her spine.

Seeing that she had suddenly gone quiet and stopped her hysterics, Alaric Blackwood leaned down and gave her a small smile. "It’s always wise to leave yourself an out. Makes future encounters much more pleasant."

"Ms. Kane, I don’t like to burn everything to the ground. I’ll give you one more chance. You have three days to consider my terms. Pull the Kane Group’s new products. Give Joel a proper understanding of the situation and stop scaring the boy with your alarmist lies. As for the Blackwood Group shares and your piece of Dragonstone Mall, given how uncooperative you’ve been, you can forget about them. My letting you avoid a lawsuit is already an act of extreme generosity."

"If you don’t accept my terms in three days, then you’d better have your legal team on standby. We’ll see you in court."