Ignoring Winona's demand, I turned and went upstairs. Then, I pulled out a suitcase and began packing everything that belonged to me.

The moment I grabbed the suitcase handle to leave, Winona burst into the room. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the suitcase, and she wrenched it from my grip, hurling it to the floor with vicious force.

The suitcase burst open with a sharp crack, scattering my belongings everywhere. Among them, an antique wooden box tumbled out, its lid flipping open to reveal a custom-commissioned handcrafted watch engraved with my family crest.

My eyes locked onto it, and I lunged forward to retrieve it. That watch was the only keepsake my grandfather had left in this world.

But the box rolled to a stop at Hendrick's feet. A glint of mischief lit his eyes as he snatched it up, letting out an exaggerated cry. "Oh my! Jeff, this watch of yours is rather lovely. The craftsmanship looks exquisite. I quite like it. Mind if I keep it?"

I reached out, desperate to reclaim my family heirloom, but Winona seized my arm. "If Henry wants it, give it to him."

Her gaze bore into mine, her voice flat, as if she were offering up something utterly inconsequential.

I was so desperate to have it back that my eyes reddened. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the watch. "Winona… that was my grandfather's—"

"I said, if he wants it, then it's his."

Winona's voice rose, her grip on my arm tightening. "Everything in this house belongs to me. I decide what happens. And that includes you!"

When the realization struck me that Winona would never listen no matter what I said, I wrenched free of her grasp, desperate to retrieve my grandfather's watch.

But before I could reach it, Winona snatched it from Hendrick's hand and hurled it to the floor. "How dare you still fight for it? Then nobody gets it!"

"No!" The scream tore from my throat as I threw myself forward.

But the watch broke at my feet with a sharp crack, the glass face shattering on impact.

Trembling, I reached for the cracked dial and broken casing scattered across the floor. Then came a sudden pain as Winona shoved me aside forcefully.

She loomed over me, her eyes filled with barely concealed disgust. "It's just a worthless old watch! After everything you've done to Henry, this is nothing!"

Glancing down at the pieces of the watch I cradled tightly against my chest, I ignored my hands that were already bloody from the shattered glass and staggered to my feet. I stumbled out of the house with red-rimmed eyes.

Behind me, Winona's voice rose to a near-hysterical roar. "Jeffrey Yard! Take one more step and see what happens!"

I ran to the garage, threw myself into the car, and gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles went white. The sharp pain in my hands made me break out in a cold sweat. At the same time, the pain was also strangely grounding, sharpening my senses.

I stepped on the accelerator, desperate to escape that suffocating place. But the moment I pulled out of the neighborhood, blinding headlights shone into my eyes from the side.

The very next second, I heard a deafening crash. Then, the world spun violently before my eyes. The impact sent my head slamming against the window, and everything blurred through a haze of red.

As the car rolled through the air, I caught a glimpse of a familiar black sedan. And along with that, Winona's wild, almost maniacal gaze.

She walked over slowly, crouching down to where I was pinned in the driver's seat. Her eyes were bloodshot. "I told you—you're not leaving. Why won't you ever listen?"

Before I could respond, the sharp click of dress shoes approached. My gaze instantly dropped to the watch pieces scattered just outside the wreckage.

Then, a thick heel came down on them with deliberate force. Hendrick bent slightly at the waist, peering at me through the broken window with an unconstrained smile.

"Oh dear, Jeff. I'm afraid it's completely ruined now."

The searing pain tearing through my body kept jolting my mind back to consciousness.

The sight of the broken watch pieces scattered across the asphalt pierced my heart like a thousand needles.

In that moment, every last shred of love and attachment I still held for Winona crumbled to ash alongside it.

I fixed my gaze on her, my voice weak but unwavering. "Have you ever thought of the consequences of your actions, Winona?"

But she acted as if she hadn't heard me. Instead, she grabbed my collar and began dragging me from the wreck.

"Ah!" The jagged metal pipe pinning me in place tore into my thigh as she pulled, and a scream ripped from my throat.

But her grip didn't relent. With a sudden, vicious yank, she wrenched me free.

A rush of cold air hit the wound as a horrifying gash immediately split open along my thigh. The next second, agony, indescribable and searing, exploded through me. Blood gushed out in thick spurts.

Winona's gaze swept over my wound. For a moment, something that might have been a flicker of concern crossed her features. But when she spoke, her voice was icy. "Apologize! Apologize to Henry for everything you did!"

Beside her, Hendrick had already propped up his phone, filming my pitiful state with a gleeful smirk.

I clamped one hand over the wound, spat out a mouthful of bloody froth, and raised my head to stare straight at Winona. I enunciated each word loud and clear. "Do you remember what my father said when we got married, Winona?"

She blinked, momentarily thrown. She had clearly forgotten.

Of course. To the Winona standing before me, nothing mattered except Hendrick. Everything else, including me, was irrelevant.

A bitter smile twisted my lips as I repeated what my father had said, word for word.

"He said, if you ever betray his son, the Yard family will make you pay a hundredfold."

Winona's confusion only deepened. An expression of utter absurdity flickered across her face.

But beside her, Hendrick let out a dismissive snort. "The Yard family? What Yard family? Didn't your old man already—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the night turned blindingly bright. A chorus of screeching brakes filled the air, and more than a dozen black Rolls-Royce Phantoms materialized like ghosts, encircling us completely.

The door of the car at the very front of the entourage opened. Out stepped a middle-aged man in a black suit—Seamus Ringler, my father's butler.

He didn't spare Winona so much as a glance. Instead, he walked straight up to me and got down on one knee with reverence. "Mr. Jeffrey, Mr. Yard Senior sent me to bring you home. The acquisition of Grahm Corporation has already commenced."

Winona's arrogant laughter rang out, dripping with contempt. "Mr. Yard Senior? Acquisition? Jeffrey, did you hire these people to put on a show? Using my money, I assume?"

But in the next second, a shrill ringtone cut through the night. Winona answered with casual indifference.

"Ms. Grahm! The company's stock price is plummeting! The board members are dumping their shares! It's… it's Yard Corporation making their move!"

The arrogance on her face froze solid. It was replaced by raw, disbelieving shock.

Beside her, Hendrick stood paralyzed. His phone slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the sidewalk.

I leaned on Seamus for support and slowly rose to my feet. As I wiped the blood from my temple, my gaze turned glacial.

I looked at the wretched pair before me and summoned every last ounce of strength left in me to make my voice carry through the silent street.

"Mr. Ringler, I want Grahm Corporation erased from Provenia completely within three days!"