Watching as these bodyguards, their expressions cold, sneering, and gloomy, stepped forward, it seemed they were about to stop Henry Lane from continuing his outburst. But no matter their approach or posture, they were all aimed at completely suppressing his resistance. Henry Lane was well aware of what was happening. Having fought countless battles in the slums, he was no stranger to situations where someone would pretend to mediate on the surface while secretly kicking or stabbing you in the back.

These bodyguards were clearly Howard Lane’s lackeys, and now, taking advantage of the opportunity to “break up the fight,” they moved in to attack. As an illegitimate child, he truly had no status at all!

The burly, rough-faced bodyguard in front took advantage of his position to throw a side kick straight at him. With the other bodyguards blocking the view, no one would be able to tell he was making a dirty move. Afterwards, Henry Lane would have nowhere to complain. Henry Lane gave a cold smile, slid forward, and in the instant everyone’s eyes blurred, he brushed past the man’s foot and crashed into his arms. The big man bent over like a shrimp. Henry Lane seemed to dodge, but in reality, the moment they were close, his elbow bent sharply and viciously, the tip turning into a spike that jabbed hard into the man’s ribs near his heart.

At the same time, the tall, skinny, monkey-like bodyguard threw a fast punch from Henry Lane’s left, aiming straight for his head, his face twisted with malice. “You dare strike first!”

Henry Lane lowered his shoulder, and somehow, the monkey’s vicious punch just slid past along the curve of Henry Lane’s shoulder. Henry Lane’s shoulder then bumped into the monkey’s armpit.

The monkey-like man was sent flying with a scream, as if struck by a giant bell, and crashed hard into Howard Lane, who was pouncing forward like a leopard under the bodyguards’ momentum.

At the critical moment, Howard Lane twisted his body to the side, deflecting most of the impact from the monkey’s collision. But his aggressive momentum was instantly broken. He stumbled forward two steps, barely keeping his balance with both hands and feet, and when he looked up, his slightly pale, chubby face was right in front of the standing Henry Lane.

A flash of panic appeared in Howard Lane’s eyes, and he tried to retreat, but it was already too late.

Howard Lane’s face, with its anxious, fearful eyes and rosy, tender complexion, was right there before him.

Henry Lane stepped forward, calmly raised his hand, and swung it in a wide arc, landing a solid slap on his face.

Smack!

Only then did Howard Lane stumble backward.

Two slaps, clean and crisp, without the slightest hesitation. Just like the steadiness Henry Lane once had when picking through mountains of garbage on Haizhou Star.

Both of Howard Lane’s cheeks swelled up high.

The arrogance in his expression was replaced by shame, anger, and disbelief. He simply couldn’t understand how, even with the numbers on his side, he could still end up being slapped twice like this.

A woman’s startled cry suddenly rang out.

Then came the stern, commanding shout of a middle-aged man, “Stop this at once!”

Howard Lane shuddered at the sound.

Henry Lane also looked to the side. From the front hall emerged a richly dressed, elegant middle-aged woman with delicate brows and shallow eyes. The earlier cry had come from her. Seeing her son’s swollen cheeks, even her usual composure couldn’t suppress her anger.

Beside her, a stern middle-aged man wearing a bronze lily medal on his chest stepped forward. His face was thin and sharp, but his eyes could not hide their fierce intensity.

He was the current head of the Lin Group, Imperial Lord William Lane.

At the sight of his father, even the arrogant Howard Lane immediately wilted like a mouse seeing a cat. With his two swollen cheeks, he pressed his thin lips together in a sullen, vicious line, his eyes darting back and forth over Henry Lane. The bodyguards quickly retreated, shrinking to Howard Lane’s side.

William Lane came before the two of them, looked at Howard Lane, and without giving him a chance to explain, barked, “You know today’s meeting is important… Making a scene here, what kind of behavior is that! Get out of my sight!”

Then he turned to Henry Lane, and this was the first time Henry Lane had seen the man called his father.

William Lane’s body had grown thin and frail from years of illness, or else he would surely have had a rare, commanding presence. Even so, the cold, hawk-like look in his eyes as he gazed at Henry Lane sent a chill down Henry Lane’s spine.

William Lane showed no anger, his tone icy. “Go back to your room.”

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, exuding authority without rage. “Don’t make yourself a laughingstock again!”

The family meeting didn’t end until late at night. After the family members had gradually left—

In William Lane’s study, Henry Lane stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his elegant brows framing a pair of deep, ink-black eyes.

William Lane sat in a wide, large leather chair, his expression as stern as an eagle, his voice ringing out in the chilly air. “You know today’s meeting was important. In front of so many people, you’ve given them a chance to gossip behind our backs. This is Riverside Star, not the place you came from before… Why did you attack your brother?”

Henry Lane met William Lane’s tiger-like eyes without flinching, his pupils as deep as a lake beneath the night sky. “That is my mother… nominally, she is his mother too. Though she is dead now, if he speaks of her with any disrespect… I don’t mind teaching him what respect truly means.”

Neither humble nor arrogant, but no one knew what kind of fury this statement would provoke in William Lane.