Chapter 43 - Chapter 43. Another jones Family Meeting

Another Jones Family Meeting"Kevin, you're just being a bully!" Blair shouted.Kevin raised an eyebrow when he heard this. He laughed mockingly and said, "Well, you certainly should know bullying when you see it. That's all you've done since I met you."Stop arguing," Officer Emmett looked Kevin in the eye and said, "Please."Kevin couldn't say no to her.He smiled smugly and said to Blair, "I'm doing this for Officer Emmett, not for you." .Then he walked over to Blair to take a look at his shackles."Be careful how you speak to me or you'll regret it," Blair growled."I've never seen such an ungrateful bastard, even in the Jones family. All right. Let's see how you do when those guys all wake up," Kevin told Blair as he turned around and started walking away."Please don't leave me here. I was wrong. Help me, please," Blair whined. He suddenly realized how close he was to facing Marshall and the others on his own.Kevin shook his head in disbelief. He reached down and grabbed the shackle. With a powerful twist, he broke the lock. Then the three of them left the room.The Alliance's Chicago stronghold was a vast network of tunnels. It must have taken them two hours to find their way out and get back into the city. On top of everything, Kevin had to swing by the Jones mansion on the way home so he could pick up his car.When Kevin returned to his penthouse at Corwin Tower, it was already past three o'clock in the morning and Lily was still sleeping.Kevin went into the study and opened the book he'd taken from Marshalls' office, Alliance Advanced Herbal Manufacturing.As he flipped through it, he found scores of fascinating recipes for all sorts of uses, from healing, to self-improvement, to what you could call weaponized herbs. Like the powder that he'd just used on Marshall's guards.Then Kevin's eyes were drawn to a sentence that was printed boldly in red: These are the ultimate herbal manufacturing techniques of the Alliance. Anyone other than the Alliance's supreme leader who uses these methods without permission will be punished severely."I wonder if Marshall stole this book from the Alliance," Kevin thought to himself.But he didn't care about that now. After all, if these recipes were only for the use of the Alliance's supreme leader, they had to be pretty effective.He kept reading until the sun rose over Lake Michigan. Somehow, even after the exhausting day that he'd just spent, he wasn't really tired. In fact, he felt refreshed. Finally, when he heard Lily getting up in the other room, he put the book away and went out into the hall .Lily was walking out of the bedroom and saw Kevin leaving the study. She yawned and asked him, "With all these bedrooms, why would you sleep in the study?"Well, when I got back last night I went into the study to do some reading. I guess I must have fallen asleep," Kevin replied with a disarming smile."That's nice," Lily said happily, "Hey, Grandma just had someone give me a call. She said she has something she wants to discuss with everyone. Everybody in the family has to drop what they're doing and get to the mansion by ten thirty."Okay, I'll take you over there," Kevin nodded. He went to clean up and change his clothes. Luckily, Kevin had gone back to the Jones mansion last night and driven his car back to Corwin Tower. Otherwise, they'd ask too many questions if he showed up today with another one.As they were driving out to the mansion, Kevin couldn't help asking Lily, "Didn't we just hold a family meeting yesterday?" "After you left with Officer Emmett yesterday, we were told that Meriwether would be held for arraignment. So, his deal with the family ended up falling through," Lily explained unemotionally.After her family's cold-hearted reaction to Meriwether's attack on her yesterday, Lily had pretty much given up on them.Kevin was sure that nothing good would come of this meeting, so he sent a quick message to Tyler while he was waiting at a red light.When they reached the mansion, Kevin walked with Lily up to the front door. "You'd better not go in," she whispered to him."If I don't go in, they'll blame you for everything," Kevin said as he took Lily's hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. I'm used to being insulted. It helps that I don't give a damn what they think. "Lily was touched when she heard this. She understood exactly what Kevin meant.Then she remembered how Kevin didn't hesitate to stand up and fight with Meriwether for her yesterday. This gave her a warm feeling inside.As Kevin and Lily entered the hall, Jason jumped up and shouted, "Kevin, you've got some nerve coming here."If it wasn't for you, we'd have been able to sell our shares!" Jason said as he glared at Kevin.The rest of the family started insulting him, saying that Lily would be better off with Meriwether than with Kevin. Then they defended Meriwether, saying it was just his nature to be aggressive.Jason jeered at Kevin and said, "If I were you, I'd divorce Lily right now. Think of her future. Mr. Meriwether would treat her well, better than you can."This really pissed Kevin off. He snapped back, "Meriwether? Didn't you just see him sitting on the floor in the middle of this room waiting for the police to take him away?" Kevin looked Jason in the eyes and added, "Don't you know when you're betting on the wrong horse? Of course not! Because you're a jackass!"What did you just say? Did you call me a jackass?"Jason clenched his fists tightly. He wanted to teach Kevin a lesson.But then he thought about how badly Kevin had beaten Meriwether yesterday. And how quickly he had done it. He unclenched his fists and sat back down. Kevin didn't pay any more attention to Jason. Instead, he looked around the room at the rest of the family. Then he said to them all sternly, "I just want to ask you one question. If I went and found a gangster to flirt with your wife or daughter right in front of you, would you laugh and cheer?"This meant nothing to them and they went back to defending Meriwether and saying how much better off they'd all be if Lily married him. This gave Jason the courage to speak up again."Because of you and your husband, we couldn't sell any of our shares yesterday. Lily, tell me what to do." Jason took a breath and added,"Do this for the family! "Family?" she yelled. "Yesterday, I was being assaulted right in this room and none of you lifted a finger to help me." Grandma Jones slammed her fist on the table."Enough!" she said coldly, "Lily, you'll be better off with Mr. Meriwether. I thought about it all night and I've come to a decision. After Mr. Meriwether is released from jail, you will divorce Kevin. Then I'll make arrangements for you to marry our new business partner!"Grandma, no!" Lily said insistently. "I'll never divorce Kevin."Whether you agree or not isn't up to you. The two of you will divorce today!" Grandma Jones declared, "This is for the future of the Jones family. It is not negotiable."As Grandma Jones finished speaking, the blood drained from Lily's face.But the rest of the family was smiling broadly. They figured that, as long as Lily married Meriwether, they'd be able to sell their shares and start their new company.As for whether Lily would be happy or not, they weren't concerned at all.While they were rejoicing, Kevin suddenly laughed out loud, "Ha! This really is a joke!"Why are you laughing?" Grandma Jones asked him angrily."Why am I laughing? It's because you're not only short-sighted, but you're also fools. You've been deceived and you also want to sacrifice my wife for this great chance for a comeback." Kevin continued to mock them,"You're willing to sell one of your own just for money. You don't know anything about familial love. That's why I'm laughing. "What are you talking about?" Grandma Jones said as she stood up from her chair, "Who are you to criticize us?!"You've lost control of your business and now you're trying to give my wife to Meriwether in exchange for money to fund your next disaster," Kevin's expression slowly became serious. "You're quite the leader!"Get out of here! Someone toss him out the door, right now!" Grandma Jones yelled."I'd like to see you try," Kevin said calmly, without a hint of fear in his voice.Who would dare to lay a hand on him after seeing him toss Meriwether around like a doll in this very room? Nobody said a word.Lily saw that the situation was getting out of control and she was very worried. She tugged at Kevin's sleeve and said, "Please don't say anything else. Grandma's already very angry."Don't worry, Lily. These people will come crawling back to you," Kevin said gently to Lily.The Joneses heard this and started to whisper to each other. What did he mean by that? Why would they beg Lily for anything?Grandma Jones looked at Kevin and Lily and realized that they loved each other.Before she could say anything though, the family butler called from the foyer, "Mrs. Jones, the CEO of KWTD Corporation, Mr. Tyler Dawn, is here to see you."She motioned for her senior advisers to join her and walked quickly to the door to greet Tyler."I'm sorry to disturb you again," Tyler said as he walked into the reception room with his assistants. He had a broad smile on his face."To what do we owe the pleasure?" Grandma Jones asked graciously."I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll get straight to the point," he replied. "May I ask if Lily is here today? I'm actually here to speak with her."Before Grandma Jones could answer, Tyler had already found Lily in the crowd. He walked up to her quickly."I'm Tyler Dawn. Very pleased to finally meet you, my friend," he smiled and said, "It's true what they say. You are quite beautiful."When Tyler said this, nobody understood what was going on. Why was he being so friendly to Lily?But they weren't ready for what he said next."My dear friend, I have to leave town for some urgent business. So, I've decided to transfer my shares in the Jones family company to you, along with the earnings from the import-export company. It will all be placed in your name and your name only. " Then Tyler gestured for one of his assistants to hand a document to Lily for her to sign.For the first time today, nobody knew what to say.