Roxy tore into Laurence too.
The fact that Laurence got back to Havenmill more quickly caught them off guard.
"Grandpa, we have lost the upper hand.”
Tony replied, "I know."
They were backed into a corner.
Laurence was far more cunning than they had imagined. It was bad enough that they could not get a good read on him.
After years of rivalry, Tony thought he knew Laurence inside out. Yet today, Tony realized there was a lot more to him. One little mistake, and they could lose their lives.
“It's so frustrating," Roxy murmured under her breath.
Ignoring her, Tony sank his back against the seat and closed his eyes. His mind was busy figuring out ways to turn the tables. He needed to get out of the deadlock.
Susan sat on an armchair in the huge living room while Laurence took the couch. Noelle, along with the bodyguards, stood behind him.
The senior family members were seated while others stood, packing the living room to the brim.
The crowd spilled beyond the living room, taking every available space outside the manor. These people were family members linked to the Longbottoms in Havenmill.
Each of them kept their heads down, murmuring among themselves whether Laurence was the legitimate heir.
Many looked forward to welcoming Laurence as the head of the family as they bore witness to the success of Longtail Group.
If Laurence were to lead the family, he would surely enforce fairness. Tony and Manny had stepped on them for three decades, and now it was their chance to rise.
The elites, who had never given Tony and Manny any respect, had arrived.
Dressed in black suits, they stood there, tall and aloof. It was clear that they were strong.
The older elites, who were around Tony's age, had worked closely with the former head of the family. With the head gone, the leadership role had been vacant. Since Tony did not possess the family heirlooms, he could not order the elites around.
Though the head of the family had been absent, the elites carried on their usual tasks without tending to Tony. Tony had tried flattering them into joining his side, but they brushed him off.
The family elites only recognized power through the family heirlooms. Without the heirlooms, not even the head of the family could order them around.
As the elites aged, they would handpick successors and send them to a secret base for training. Once the training was complete, these young proteges would assume their roles and excel in what they did while safeguarding the Longbottoms' core businesses.
These elites belonged to the Longbottom family, but they barely interacted with the rest of the family. Their loyalty was to the head, on the condition that he had the family heirlooms.
Without these three items, they would not carry out the family head's instructions. Standing in the living room, the family elites observed everything indifferently.
They had checked Laurence out multiple times.
Laurence, sitting alone on the couch, was handsome and aggressive. There was something about his presence. His bodyguards kept close to him as if he were royalty.
His presence was even more commanding than when his father was still alive.
It was not known where Laurence had grown up in the last thirty years.
Was he really an apprentice to Lilian?
No, the elites determined that Laurence was born to be a leader.
Without the tragedy that happened thirty years ago, Laurence would have been a sheltered heir.
It was not a guarantee that Laurence would take over the family if he were born with
a silver spoon. However, as one of the heirs, he would live a pampered life.
Now, Laurence was the only surviving member of the bloodline. If he could produce the family seal, token, and totem, he would become the next family head.
The position that had been left vacant for three decades could finally be filled.
"Laurence, you have the seal and the token. What about the totem? Without the totem, we won't recognize you as our leader," Susan said.