Seeing that some of the Turnbull blackguards were becoming hesitant, Tamon quickly moved to seize the moral high ground instead.
“Quit being stubborn, Vicky!” he bellowed. “Our family will fall if we don’t surrender Frank Lawrence! I don’t mind letting Glen keep his leadership, but I won’t forgive Frank! We can’t afford to bear the crime of killing a direct heir of the Lionhearts! What are we going to do if Simon Lionheart storms our homes with his martial elites?! We’d all be dead, all because of that scumbag!”
“No, we aren’t that weak,” Vickly calmly retorted. “You’re human, Granduncle. Quit being an ingrate-you look worse than animals.”
Then, she whipped out a knife from under her bed, pressing it to her neck. “Frank has saved me and our family repeatedly. If you want to take him, you’d have to do it over my dead body!”
“Vicky!!!” Tamon was clenching his fists in rage at Vicky’s radical retort, especially when she called him less than an animal. “You’re beyond saving! Don’t you see what’s important here?! Are you sentencing all of us to death over some manwhore?!”
“Exactly,” Quentin reasoned as well. “There are plenty of fish in the sea, and you’ll find someone better given your disposition. I think Titus Lionheart is really great in that respect.”
“Why don’t you apologize and resume your engagement?” Wes added. “Everyone will be happy when that happens.”
However, mentioning Titus only left Vicky smirking.
“I guess none of you remember, so let me refresh your memory!” she snapped, turning and pointing at Frank. “Do none of you remember who’s the one who saved every last one of you during the annual dinner? Do you think you’d still be standing here to order me around if not for Frank?!”
Then, snorting and shaking her head, she chuckled coolly. “No, I guess you’ve forgotten everything. Three years-for three years, South Sea Crow kept murdering our own, while Lionhearts claimed that they failed to stop her. You all know the truth about that now, and we would’ve been wiped out if not for Frank!
“And now that Frank had to kill Sif to save me, forget not helping-you scumbag turned against Frank instead, ready to scapegoat your savior to curry our enemy’s favor! Do you know no shame?! I could feed a stray with scraps, and it’d show more gratitude than you lot!”
Her metaphor left the Turnbull elders and executives scowling, and most of them turned toward Tamon, who was clearly their leader.
But at his age, Tamon had long since given up on shame and morals. And having worked as a businessman his whole life, he could not care less about Vicky’s insults.
“Well, we have no choice since you’re not cooperating,” he said quietly. “Die all you want it would make us even after the Lionhearts lost their heiress. Go, Jet. Subdue Frank and Vicky. Make them cooperate even if they refuse to.”
“What?!” Vicky almost thought she misheard, but Tamon clearly did not care if Vicky lived for the sake of his coffers!
“Yes, sir,” Jet replied, ever loyal to Tamon.
