John's response stunned everyone once more, their expressions contorting with disbelief.
Robert had summoned him to the law enforcement department — this wasn't a request, it was an outright command.
And John simply said... he wasn't interested?
This man was beyond redemption!
Without warning, Brooke dropped to his knees in front of Robert Tennat and pleaded desperately for mercy.
"Guardian Tennat, John is a criminal! He deserves to die ten thousand times over. But I swear, he has nothing to do with the Long Family—or me! I barely know him! Please, please grant us a chance to make things right."
Robert narrowed his eyes with a sneer. "John frequents your home. You hosted a three-day banquet in his honor. All of Houston knows how closely tied your family is to him. Do you take me for a fool?"
Brooke's face turned deathly pale.
Not just him—the entire Long Family fell into a state of dread and panic. Regret gnawed at them like rats in a grain store.
They had flaunted their ties to John in a grand, ostentatious banquet, hoping to ride the coattails of the Flaherty Family's influence. But no one had anticipated the Flaherty Family's abrupt collapse—or that John would provoke such a monumental disaster.
Brooke stammered, his voice trembling with fear. "Guardian Tennat, this is all a misunderstanding. Our relationship with John is... strained. We've merely kept up appearances."
"That's right!" another member chimed in quickly. "We've been trying to distance ourselves from him for a long time now, but he just keeps clinging to us!"
"I warned everyone ages ago—John isn't trustworthy," added another, voice rising in a mix of fear and self-righteousness. "He had ulterior motives for getting close to our family. He only wants Sophia!"
"Guardian Tennat," Brooke's wife Mandy added hastily, "it's true that John killed your son, but it had nothing to do with our family. As for Sophia... she's already declared she wants nothing more to do with the Longs!"
Buck, who had been silently fuming, turned a scathing glare toward her. Then, his furious eyes locked onto Sophia, still standing firmly at John's side.
"Come here, Sophia!" he bellowed.
Sophia didn't budge.
Her eyes were ice. Her soul colder.
She had witnessed the full extent of their hypocrisy.
They had done the same thing with the Will Family—turned on them the moment their fortunes shifted. When John rose to fame, they bent over backwards trying to flatter him.
And now?
Snakes, the lot of them.
Sophia felt nothing but shame in sharing blood with these people.
Arno, who had recently been convinced that John could be their salvation, now shook his head with a deeply conflicted expression. Disillusionment tugged at his features.
John had made a grave error.
Offending the Tannat Family after losing the Flaherty's backing? That was suicidal.
Even if the Flahertys hadn't collapsed, killing Hardy—Robert's only son—was inexcusable. Now, Robert had come for retribution.
Arno let out a long, weary sigh.
John was wrong. And he had been even more foolish to stake the Long Family's future on him.
The three-day banquet had bound them to John like anchors to a sinking ship. They were all doomed now.
He felt himself drowning in despair.
At that moment, John, who had silently been watching the Long Family's unraveling expressions, smiled faintly—a smile full of mocking amusement.
"They're right," he said calmly. "We're not close friends. I killed Hardy. That has nothing to do with anyone in the Long Family."
What?
Everyone froze in disbelief.
The Longs had clearly just thrown John under the bus. They were the epitome of opportunistic scum, abandoning him the moment things went south.
Shouldn't John hate them for this?
Why would he take the blame alone?
They didn't understand it.
But they didn't need to.
All that mattered was—they were off the hook.
"Guardian Tennat, you heard him!" Brooke cried eagerly. "He admits we're nothing more than acquaintances. If you have a vendetta, take it out on him! We're innocent!"
Robert's eyes were dark with rage, his face carved from pure hatred. "How responsible of you," he said sarcastically. "Then I'll be generous and leave you with a whole corpse."
His gaze shifted to Arno, voice sharp as a blade. "This all started because of your precious granddaughter. I'll spare your family—but only if she agrees to one condition: she must marry my son."
A thunderbolt of silence struck the room.
He was serious.
Even with Hardy dead, he still wanted Sophia?
He wasn't seeking a daughter-in-law—he wanted a puppet. A symbol. A hostage.
That's what he meant when he said Sophia was the root cause.
Arno, Buck, and Mandy turned ghostly pale.
Darcy, Sophia's mother, collapsed at Robert's feet, sobbing so hard her tears mixed with mucus.
He ignored her entirely.
The rest of the Long Family—Brooke, Mandy, and their ilk—breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't care if Sophia lived or died. If Robert's rage was satisfied, they'd happily throw her to the wolves.
"She brought this on us," Brooke muttered, his eyes flickering with resentment. "Her beauty is what caused all this."
He conveniently forgot that it had been his idea to feed Sophia to Hardy in the first place.
"Father, what else can we do? Do you want the entire Long Family imprisoned because of Sophia?" Brooke whined, his voice thick with false sorrow.
"He's right, Father," Mandy added. "Once someone's locked in the Martial Arts League's dungeon, they don't come out easily. We have to think about survival. I pity Sophia, but... we have no choice!"
Brooke and Mandy put on their most pitiful expressions and knelt before Arno.
One by one, the other family members followed suit, all pleading with Arno to sacrifice Sophia for the good of the family.
Arno's face looked hunted, drained of all color. He stared at the kneeling crowd of cowards, then turned to Sophia.
Her face was stone. No sorrow. No hope.
Just... emptiness.
And that hurt more than anything.
How could he possibly say the words they were forcing into his mouth?
And then—
"I've seen a lot of Martial Arts Leagues in my time," said a calm, chilling voice that sliced through the noise. "And every last one of them was filth. But you... you are the top black sheep among them all."
Everyone froze, the air thick with dread.
John had spoken again.
And this time, there was venom in his voice.