Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1213

Lillian's smile faded into a cool, knowing smirk. "Ethan, we've worked together for a while now. Haven't you figured out how the people in my orbit operate?

If you genuinely believe Brandon was worried about me going back to prison out of the goodness of his heart, then you're far too naive.

Think about it. What is the current state of the Mercer Group? And what is the status of my company, Lillionix?

Right now, we're at a critical tipping point. If I were suddenly thrown into prison for murder, what kind of catastrophic PR nightmare would that trigger?"

Ethan blinked, a soft 'Oh' escaping his lips as his sharp business mind instantly caught up with her logic.

"Right," Ethan murmured, his eyes widening. "If things escalated to a murder charge, even if the public knew the full context of what Sabrina did, the narrative would split. A massive chunk of the internet would pivot from supporting you to condemning you.

When a life is lost, everyone suddenly loves to play the moral crusader.

Typing out an outraged comment costs them nothing, so they'd flock to the moral high ground.

The backlash would inevitably bleed into Lillionix.

And if Lillionix's stock tanks, the Mercer Group's chances of bouncing back from their financial crisis evaporate completely. It would be a death sentence for their company.

Since they're already in the eye of the media storm, a murder scandal would obliterate their bottom line."

Lillian gave a slow, approving nod. "Exactly. Now do you understand why Brandon was sweating?

The men in the Mercer family are absolute masters of calculating risk and reward.

The moment a crisis hits, their brains run a worst-case scenario algorithm to figure out how to shield their own assets from the blast radius.

That calculated self-preservation is the only reason he tried to play peacemaker.

Lillian had long since stopped believing that blood made someone family.

Leonard draped his arm over the back of the sofa, his tone authoritative. "Tell the guards to throw them out the second she's fully healed."

"And make sure you remind them," Lillian added, her eyes gleaming with dark amusement, "that today's little kneeling session doesn't count. As for how many months they'll have to keep showing up for The Penance Performance... well, that entirely depends on when my mother gets bored of watching them."

In truth, it wasn't just about her mother's entertainment.

It was a therapeutic exercise designed to help Eleanor reclaim her power and overwrite those traumatic memories. Lillian was more than willing to stomach the disgust of seeing that adulterous pair every morning at Halfridge Villas if it meant her mother found a shred of peace.

What Lillian didn't realize, however, was that Sabrina's very first glimpse of the opulent Halfridge Villas had planted a greedy seed in her mind.

Sabrina had never seen such staggering, world-class luxury in her entire life, and she already desperately wanted it for herself.