Chapter 401: Withdrawing Help
Ella’s voice shook with anger, her frustration boiling over. "Don’t you dare compare him to Robert! That greedy, spineless man isn’t even worthy of a single strand of Eric’s hair!"
Lucas laughed bitterly. "Ella, I’m talking about strength. If he can’t even protect you, how is he any better than Robert? Both are powerless and self-centered."
"Robert chose to let Brianna run wild. He’d already given up on my mother! Don’t you know that? My mother wasn’t like Brianna with her sweet-talking ways. She was a gentle and reserved woman, but Robert’s heart strayed when he met Brianna. No matter what you say, I won’t divorce Eric. Besides... you have no right to tell me what to do!" Ella’s voice grew sharper, her temper rising.
"How can you speak to your father like that?" Luke’s voice cut in as he strode into the room. He had overheard the escalating argument and couldn’t stay away.
Ella turned to glare at him coldly. "Mr. Anderson, don’t even start with me. You’ve been in the Anderson family for years, haven’t you faced dangers of your own? Or did I imagine that?"
Her sharp tone stunned Luke, while Lucas’s face darkened further.
"I clearly remember," Ella continued, her voice unwavering, "that in your youth, you were kidnapped twice and survived multiple assassination attempts. Did I get that wrong?"
In a place as chaotic as Country W, surviving without sufficient skill and power was impossible. The unprepared or weak were simply targets.
When Lucas first took over the Anderson family, his rise had provoked many enemies, resulting in frequent crises. Ella even recalled the story of one of Lucas’s loyal female detectives who was promoted to chief inspector—only to be assassinated within a week.
Country W was both a land of opportunity and a battleground soaked in blood. It was a place where power meant wealth, but without strength, one’s life was forfeit.
Lucas’s face grew even darker. The painful memories of his younger years, full of hardship and danger, resurfaced. If not for the need to support his elderly parents, he might have succumbed to despair long ago.