Having fought with Laurence for so many years, it felt like they were always the ones getting the short end of the stick.
They had successfully infiltrated Laurence's estate before, but it had resulted in catastrophic losses.
They had meticulously planned tonight's mission. They had even gone so far as to send Manny out to the field. Yet, when Manny arrived at the very front gates, he chose to abandon the mission, throwing away a perfectly orchestrated plan.
The worst part was that he could not even scold his son for it.
Manny's caution, however, was entirely justified. Had Tony been in Manny's shoes at that exact moment, he probably would not have blindly walked in either.
When a mission seemed too easy to succeed, it usually meant a massive trap was waiting for them.
Tony found Laurence and Lilian utterly detestable. If their men had gone inside, there was no telling what horrific fate would have awaited them.
By then, forget about stealing the family token. Whether their people could make it back alive would be a mystery itself.
Ever since Lilian and Jane had beaten their bodyguards to a pulp, Tony had been feeling hesitant. He had considered calling off the plan entirely, but he clung to a sliver of hope, thinking that since the women had made a scene, they might lower their guard.
After wrestling with his doubts, he ultimately told his son to proceed with the mission.
Seeing Tony remaining silent, his expression heavy with deep disappointment, Manny asked cautiously, "Pops, do you blame me for giving up on the opportunity?"
"I don't," Tony replied. "Given the situation you described, I would have made the same call if I were there. Laurence is an incredibly cunning man. He would certainly have taken precautions. He must have dug a massive pit, waiting for us to jump in so he could wipe us out in one fell swoop.
"I just don't think fate is on our side. Look at how much blood, sweat, and tears we've poured into this over two generations. It's been thirty years, or nearly thirty- one years, to be precise. We've invested so much manpower and financial resources, yet to this very day, we still haven't gotten our hands on the heirlooms. "Not only did that wretched Laurence survive, but he's grown incredibly powerful. Longtail Group has backed our Longbottom Corporation into a corner, making it hard for us to even breathe. On top of that, he's surrounded by many formidable people.
"Judging by his aggressive movements over the past couple of days, he intends to reveal his true identity as Laurence Longbottom. He takes the last name 'Young' from his adoptive father, Ben, who is a Johnson but also took after his mother's last name, Young. That is why Ben and his twins go by the last names Young-Johnson." "Is it true that the position of head of the family can only be inherited by the direct lineage? Is it written in stone that no matter how hard the side branches of the family like us strive, we will never get that position? Are our ancestors truly content to let us remain subservient forever? Why aren't they protecting us?"
Manny deeply understood his father's resentment.
He resented it, too.
“Pops, even if Laurence publicly reveals his identity and returns to claim his position as the rightful heir, are we just going to let him take it? We've run the company for thirty years. Aside from the top executives we can't manipulate, everything else is under our control.
"The rest of the family members amount to nothing. Even if Laurence comes back, we can still overthrow him. Didn't you successfully send his parents and family packing thirty years ago? Thirty years later, we can still send him down to hell to reunite with them.
"No matter how powerful Laurence is, he has weaknesses. The moment he returns and claims his position as the rightful heir, we will have more opportunities to strike. No matter how tightly he guards himself, he is bound to leave a flaw eventually."