The Heiress They Lost Came Back Overpowered

Country A.

After severing his useless family ties and clearing his head, Cole set everything in motion and returned with his men to his homeland, a place he hadn’t set foot in for ten whole years.

First, he made his "dear" brother and sister experience a few of the assassination attempts he had once faced. A knife wound today, a gunshot wound tomorrow, a broken bone the day after, and a scarred face the day after that.

They drew blood every time, but the attacks were never fatal.

It was like that notorious case where a medical student furiously stabbed her ex-boyfriend over a hundred times, yet his injuries were ruled as minor. What they were getting didn’t even qualify as minor injuries.

It was as if he were just teasing a cat or a dog, simply wanting them to feel the Grim Reaper giving them a friendly wave.

The Grim Reaper: "Oh, my dear! Come on, come up and join me~"

After all, a quick death would be too merciful. It was far better to let them live in constant fear, to experience the feeling of a blade hanging over their necks that never seemed to fall.

Soon after, Cole met up with Leon. Behind the scenes, they sabotaged several of his cousin Henry’s businesses and smashed up all his private enterprises, such as casinos, bars, and establishments for vice.

But there was no need to worry about the manpower or resources required. After all, a small-fry like him couldn’t have built much of an empire. It was a piece of cake.

Besides, Cole now had not only North at his disposal but also the backing of the International Mercenary Corps and Moonshadow. He was in no shortage of men to command.

This whole affair had the two of them grinding their teeth in frustration, but they couldn’t find the mastermind. Instead, they each suspected the other was behind the shenanigans and went all out to make trouble for one another.

Cole and Leon were kindred spirits in every way, from their personalities to their hobbies. With Yvonne Lowell as a common link between them, they forged a deep, revolutionary friendship from the moment they first met.

When they heard the news, the two of them collapsed onto the sofa in the exact same manner.

As they reviewed the intel, they complained that the pair’s attempts to sabotage each other were pathetic—truly amateur hour.

They were so comfortable and pleased, they felt like popping a bottle of champagne at halftime to celebrate the plan’s success in advance.

Once Cole had vented enough of his anger from years of assassination attempts, he presented everything to his grandfather, Old Man Cole, all at once: the paternity test results for his "cousin" Vena and her real father, Brown; a photo of their real family of three together; and the truth behind the explosion all those years ago.

Speaking of which, one had to admire Old Man Cole’s psychological fortitude.

The man was pushing 70, yet he was still in robust health, and his ability to handle pressure was off the charts.

When he received the news, he didn’t gasp for breath and pass out, forcing the old butler to frantically call the family doctor. Instead, he immediately sent his trusted confidants to verify the information.

Once he confirmed the news was accurate, he ordered his people to bring the three of them back.

When the guards from the Jones Family went to make the arrest, Vena and her mother were in their villa enjoying beauty treatments, living a life of leisure.

Not only did they spout nonsense when they were caught, but they also clawed up the guards’ faces.

Vena even tried to kick someone with her cast-covered foot, only to worsen her injury. That pig’s trotter of a leg, which should have been healing in bed, had just suffered a second round of damage.

However, the adulterer, Brown, had escaped. Not only did the guards from the Jones Family fail to find him, but even the men from the Mercenary Corps who had been watching the house lost his trail. It was as if Brown had vanished into thin air.

Unable to catch him, they had no choice but to continue the search.

As for Vena and her mother, for an old, aristocratic family like the Joneses—even if their power had waned since Cole’s father was alive—their foundation was still solid.

For powerful capitalists like them, arranging for two people to have an "accident" was no difficult task.

So, after Vena and her mother were tortured to death at the manor, the news reported that an unlicensed black sedan had lost control and flown off an overpass into the city moat in Emberfall, Country A.

According to reports, there were two adult women inside. The cause of the crash was brake failure due to excessive speeding. The car was destroyed, and its occupants were killed.

Old Man Cole seized the opportunity to publicly announce the truth about his two sons’ deaths, claiming that the women in the black car were his nominal second daughter-in-law and granddaughter, who were fleeing to escape justice.

He expressed his deep sorrow but still repaid their evil with virtue by having their bodies collected, earning himself more good publicity in the process.

As for the missing adulterer, Brown, he naturally became a wanted fugitive who had fled after committing murder.

The Jones Family didn’t even have to lift a finger. The Brown Family soon found themselves facing contract cancellations, cold shoulders, and suppression from all sides.

See? The world is never short of people who flock to the powerful.

Were their hands clean? No. In fact, they might have been even filthier than Brown’s.

But so what? They didn’t care. As long as their hands appeared clean to outsiders, that was enough.

Besides, with so many people already involved, refusing to participate would make them seem like outsiders—and they would have to worry about being targeted by the Jones Family.

...

Mercenary Corps.

Leon was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, a cigar held between his fingers. He looked at the man across from him, who was mirroring his exact posture.

"Your aunt must be ecstatic. Two major rivals gone in one fell swoop. She’s probably dying to announce that her son is the sole heir."

For the past few days, Deloria had been gloating inwardly while putting on a sorrowful face and pouring out her troubles to the other ladies over afternoon tea.

Things like how Vena could have been so senseless as to hire assassins to kill her own cousin, and how her dear son was still wounded and bedridden.

And how she never imagined the niece she’d watched grow up was actually an impostor. Her son had lost his respected older brother ten years ago, and now he had lost his beloved cousin.

And oh, it was a good thing her father was still in good health, because her son was still starting from the bottom and wasn’t yet capable of easing his maternal grandfather’s burdens, blah, blah, blah...

As a result, rumors were already circulating that Henry becoming the next Family Head of the Jones Family was a foregone conclusion.

Cole’s lips twisted into a sarcastic smile. "Let her daydream for now. After all, if you do the math, her happy days are just about over."

"I’ll be counting on you from now on, new Family Head of the Jones Family."

Leon raised his glass from the table in a toast, then downed it in one gulp.

Cole smiled without a word, then drained his glass as well.

’If he had a choice, he wouldn’t want the position of Family Head at all. He only wished his parents and younger brother were still alive.’

’But now, he had to fight for it. It wasn’t about winning the prize; it was about winning back his pride.’

Sure enough, before Deloria even had the chance to go before Old Man Cole and put on a show of filial piety to win some face for her son, she was greeted by an arrest warrant for him, issued by the international police.

Organized crime, drug trafficking, smuggling... On top of it all, he was apparently the biggest "snakehead" for human trafficking in all of Country A.

The charges were numerous, the evidence irrefutable. Henry was taken away on the spot.

Well, it looked like Deloria would be going to Jones Manor after all. Only this time, it wasn’t to bad-mouth others, but to beg her old man to save her son.