Nearby, Jasper's mouth twitched.
The old man was saying "managing."
But the sheer arrogance radiating off him could power the entire city.
Serena stood beside him, her eyes lowered as a faint smile touched her lips.
Catching her smile out of the corner of his eye, Reginald's chest puffed out even further.
Right on cue, Arthur Harrison approached with his daughter, Clarissa, pasting a look of intense curiosity on his face. "Reginald! I must say, after so many specialists declared your condition hopeless, seeing you on your feet is a sheer miracle. I am..... deeply curious, though. Which medical genius finally managed to cure you?"
As the head of a rising pharmaceutical dynasty.
Arthur's question seemed perfectly natural on the surface.
Reginald, never one to miss an opportunity to brag about his granddaughter, cleared his throat and looked at his peers. "Ah, my legs? It's all thanks to my Serena's meticulous treatments."
The moment the words landed.
A flash of mockery crossed Arthur's eyes.
Just as I thought.
The Lancasters were shamelessly using his recovery to build a false legend around her.
Without breaking his polite facade, Arthur smiled. "But Reginald, wasn't the nerve damage deemed irreversible by the top international medical boards?"
Reginald raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with absolute certainty. "Just because they couldn't do it doesn't mean my granddaughter can't."
"My granddaughter is brilliant. If she says she can fix it, she fixes it."
The silent sneer in Arthur's eyes deepened.
The other elders exchanged stunned glances.
Some were genuinely astounded.
Others were highly skeptical.
After all, Reginald had exhausted the world's greatest medical minds to no avail.
But he was standing right in front of them, walking with just a cane.
If this was truly Serena's doing...
Then her skills were far beyond the "talented" rumors floating around.
Arthur let out a modest laugh. "I had no idea Miss Lancaster was so accomplished the opportunity. arises, I would love to witness her medical expertise firsthand
Serena lazily lifted her gaze and locked eyes with him.
The underlying disdain and mockery in the older man's eyes were painfully obvious to her.
His little speech was nothing more than a calculated attempt to publicly question her legitimacy.
However...
She refused to let a pathetic insect ruin the beautiful gala her family had painstakingly organized for her.
Before the tension could escalate, a booming voice echoed across the hall.
"Reginald!"
Everyone turned.
Old Mr. Blackwood strode forward, leaning on his cane, with Brianna dutifully walking by his side.
The Blackwood patriarch wore a sharp, charcoal-gray suit. His hair was silver, but his presence was electric.
The moment he saw Reginald
fupright, his eyes inset
flushed red. "You stubborn old fool.. you actua ually did it."
Reginald scoffed. "What? Jealous?"
Old Mr. Blackwood glared at him. "Jealous of what? My legs work perfectly fine!"
Despite the insult, he reached out and firmly gripped Reginald's shoulder.
The gesture wasn't aggressive.
It carried decades of profound, unspoken brotherhood. "This is good. This is really good."
The two patriarchs had been rivals for most of their lives.
In their youth, they competed over business, then they competed over whose sons were better.
Neither ever backed down from an argument.
But seeing his oldest rival standing tall again, Old Mr. Blackwood had to fight back the moisture in his eyes.
He turned his gaze to Serena, his
expression filled with deep
admiration. "Having Serena in your
family... it is the greatest blessing
the Lancasters
Thayes
for
FindNovel.net
Reginald's chin tilted even higher. "Obviously. My granddaughter is the absolute
best."