Who would not wish to be the true head of the family?
The true head of the Longbottoms was recognized by the sacred heirlooms, and every single piece of it was essential.
If one piece were missing, ascending to the position of the true head of the family was out of the question.
Since they were so incredibly important, Manny naturally insisted on stealing them or, as he preferred to see it, reclaiming them personally.
After all, those items rightfully belonged to his branch of the family. He and Tony had collectively served as the acting heads for thirty long years.
They knew the family's internal affairs inside and out, were familiar with all the business operations, and the vast majority of the other family branches lived comfortably under their rule. Only a handful of stubborn troublemakers were constantly nitpicking and finding fault, and that was solely because those particular relatives had not managed to line their own pockets.
Manny would never admit that he had been squeezing the profits out of his own family, driving many of them to the point where they could barely even survive.
He refused to arrange jobs for his relatives within Longbottom Corporation, denying them positions even in the minor subsidiaries. Only the relatives who actively flattered them and fell in line were ever granted employment. As for those stubborn troublemakers, Manny went out of his way to sabotage them even if they tried to apply for jobs at entirely unrelated companies.
He made sure those troublemakers could not find work anywhere, and he even blocked them from doing basic food delivery jobs. He would pay people to get those who ordered takeout to file complaints or leave negative reviews.
In short, if the troublemakers refused to make his life easy, he would make sure their lives were a living hell.
After Manny left, Tony sat quietly in his seat for a few moments longer. Finally, he stood up, headed upstairs to his study, locked the door behind him, and waited in total silence for Manny to bring back the good news.
Meanwhile, Manny and his men stealthily made their way toward the perimeter of Laurence's estate.
Having been there countless times, Manny knew Laurence loved to set traps all along the walls. This time, they used a ladder to scale the wall, but instead of jumping straight down into the yard, they waited until the few leading the way had all climbed up the wall.
Then, they pulled the ladders up, anchoring one end to the top of the wall and extending the other across to the branches of a nearby tree. By doing this, they could crawl along the ladders into the tree and drop safely to the ground from there.
That clever maneuver would allow them to bypass all the hidden traps and lethal poisons laid out by the wall.
"Sir."
Just as Manny was about to order his men to scale the wall, a man dressed in black came sprinting over from the direction of the main gate, calling out in a hushed voice, “Sir, it's quiet in there. The night guards are all fast asleep, and there isn't even a peep from those hounds.
"Going through the main gate is actually the safest bet right now."
Since Laurence had to use the main gate whenever he came and went, he obviously would not put any traps there, making the main gate the safest point of entry. In the past, they had not considered this option only because they were terrified of those ferocious hounds.
The hounds Laurence kept to protect the estate were always securely leashed during the day to avoid terrifying guests. However, at night, their ropes were unleashed so they could roam the grounds entirely free.
If there were even a whisper of movement at night, the hounds would charge over and bark. Anyone brave enough to scale the walls would be swarmed instantly, scaring any petty thief out of their mind, and that was saying nothing of the endless traps and toxic powders waiting for them.
Manny frowned. Was this a setup?
The easier it looked, the more he feared a trap.
"Where are the hounds?" Manny demanded in a low whisper.
"I didn't see them."
Manny snapped, “Just because you didn't see them doesn't mean they aren't lurking right there!"