Hardy didn't take Robert's warning seriously at all.
He thought his father was overreacting.
As a guardian of the Martial Alliance, he wasn't someone who could be taken down so easily. It wasn't like they were the Flaherty family, who had made some unforgivable mistake and brought ruin upon themselves.
Besides, no one at the top of the Martial Alliance was truly innocent.
They all had skeletons in their closets. They just hadn't been exposed yet.
Frustrated, Hardy went to a nightclub to blow off steam. He ordered a few beautiful barmaids to accompany him, but he wasn't in the mood for their company. After a short while, he waved them off and drove all the heavily made-up, boring women out of the room.
Just then, a man with a greasy smile approached and raised a glass toward him.
"Mr. Tennat."
It was Brooke.
Hardy cast him a sideways glance, sneering. "You've been sucking up to me a lot lately, Brooke."
This wasn't the first time they'd run into each other. Hardy often came to this nightclub whenever he was free or pissed off. And recently, without fail, Brooke would just happen to be there too.
Clearly, he'd been waiting on purpose.
Brooke chuckled obsequiously. "What are you saying, Mr. Tennat? The Tennat family is booming now. It's not just me—there are plenty of people lining up to kiss your ass."
His words were shameless, but Hardy didn't mind. He enjoyed this kind of flattery.
Still, he waved dismissively. "Save the sweet talk. If you want to impress me, send Sophia to my bed. That'd be a lot more persuasive."
"Oh…"
Brooke laughed awkwardly, rubbing his hands. "Believe me, I wanted that too. When the old man was dying, it almost happened. But then that bastard John showed up and saved him. Ruined the whole damn plan."
Smash!
Hardy suddenly hurled his glass to the floor, shattering it.
Brooke flinched. "Wh-What's wrong, Mr. Tennat?"
Hardy's face twisted in a dark scowl. "I ran into that damn bastard at Hugo's promotion banquet today. He was insufferable."
Just hearing John's name was enough to piss him off.
Brooke's face darkened as well. "You didn't teach him a lesson?"
His hatred toward John ran deep.
He had long supported marrying Sophia into the Tennat family. On the day Arno Long was critically ill, they'd almost succeeded. But John had appeared out of nowhere and saved Arno's life—blowing up the entire plan.
Later, they found out John had a close relationship with Master Bertha, who at the time was backed by the Flaherty family. The Long family naturally thought they'd forged a connection with the powerful Flaherty clan.
But then—
The Flaherty family collapsed.
Their supposed backers vanished overnight.
And to make matters worse, the Long family had thrown a massive three-day banquet, boasting to every rich family in Houston that they had the Flaherty family behind them.
Now, that celebration had become a joke.
Other elite families would look at the Longs with mocking smiles.
"Still feel proud now that your big backer's gone?"
The Long family had become a laughingstock.
Brooke, however, had seized that moment to climb the ranks within the family. His influence had surpassed that of his elder brother, Buck. Robert's promotion from steward to guardian had only cemented Brooke's reputation as a visionary.
Now, Brooke was second only to Arno in terms of influence in the Long family.
After the Flaherty family's downfall, Brooke once again pushed for Sophia to be married into the Tennat family. This time, he received full support from within. Even Buck had no good reason to oppose it.
So, while the rest of the family focused on convincing Arno, Brooke had taken on the task of buttering up Hardy.
That's why Hardy kept "accidentally" bumping into Brooke at the nightclub.
Brooke was always waiting.
Hardy downed another glass of wine and growled, "I want to teach that bastard a lesson, but my father told me to hold back…"
He trailed off, then turned sharply to Brooke. "I heard from Lucien that Sophia is already that bastard's woman?"
Brooke's expression changed instantly. He waved his hands. "No, no—definitely not. That's just a rumor. My niece may have a bit of a crush on John, but they've never slept together. I can guarantee that."
If Sophia had slept with John, it would mean Hardy would be marrying a used woman.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Hardy exhaled slowly, his fury slightly abating.
Brooke let out a quiet breath of relief too and quickly added, "Mr. Tennat, I don't think we'll be able to make Sophia give in through normal means. You know how stubborn she is."
A pause.
Then a sinister glint flashed in Brooke's eyes as a wicked idea took shape.
He leaned closer and whispered into Hardy's ear.
"I think… we should start with that bastard John."
"You mean threaten Sophia with him?" Hardy immediately grasped the implication.
But then he frowned and sneered coldly. "The son of a guardian reduced to threatening women? Do I really need to stoop that low?"
Threatening a woman just to get her in bed? It was beneath him.
And even if he succeeded, it would only win him her body—not her heart.
Just as Brooke thought Hardy was going to back out, Hardy suddenly changed his tone.
"Still," he said, with a cruel smirk, "if I can't have Sophia's heart, having her body isn't a bad consolation prize."
Brooke's eyes lit up.
"Exactly! Once you have her body, winning her heart will come naturally over time."
Hardy snorted. "Brooke, you really are one twisted uncle. Sophia's unlucky to have a man like you as family."
But Brooke didn't flinch at the insult. Instead, he smiled flatteringly.
"Mr. Tennat, you're joking. I'm giving Sophia a golden opportunity—a chance to make real contributions to our Long family. Plenty of other girls would kill for that."