The lost heiress never forgiven

Chapter 499 That Was the Choice He Made

Chapter 499 That Was the Choice He Made

Mateo was speechless. Draven’s voice was low and hoarse.

“In that case, we won’t stay any longer. Take care of yourself.”

With that, Draven stood up. He had nothing left to say. He didn’t wait for Mateo and simply left.

A while after Draven walked off, Mateo finally opened his mouth.

“Out of all of us, the person I admired the most was you. You always handled everything so well. Even my grandfather used to say you were the real deal–young, capable, and steady. Not like me, always messing things up. Every time I screwed up, the first person I ran to was you, because I knew you’d clean it up.”

Maddox’s heart clenched. He couldn’t help but say, “I’m sorry.”

But he didn’t say, What happened between me and Johnathan is our business. It doesn’t affect our friendship. There was no point. After so many years, they all knew each other too well. Maddox knew Mateo had already made his decision.

And sure enough, Mateo said, “I owe you. I won’t forget that. I’ll pay it back when I get the chance.”

Before Maddox could say anything, Mateo got up and left.

He watched as both his close friends walked away. Maddox sat there for a long time. Despite the cold night and falling snow, he didn’t seem to feel a thing.

It was a long time before he finally got up and walked back toward the house.

This was the choice he had made.

Draven had expected Mateo to struggle with the fallout for a while, but to his surprise, after that night, Mateo quickly went back to how he was. The only difference was that he never spoke of Maddox again. noveldrama

At the moment, the group had gathered at Johnathan’s to discuss the aftermath of everything that had happened.

Stone looked utterly exhausted after several days without rest.

“Right now, pressure’s coming from all sides. They want us to release White. We’re in the middle of a standoff.”

White’s background made him a delicate situation. The embassy had already sent people to negotiate, but Johnathan’s side hadn’t backed down.

White’s crimes had gone viral after Johnathan ordered the entire file of evidence released online. Netizens from around the world were shocked and calling for justice.

That global outrage was the only reason they’d managed to keep him detained for this long.

“Now the other side is arguing that this is an international case, not something one nation can handle alone. They’re pushing for an international trial.”

Chapter 499 That Was the Choice He Made

That might sound fair on the surface, but the truth was there would be plenty of room for manipulation Once White was handed over, there’d be no telling if the person tried and executed was really him. The White family’s influence was no joke.

Stone had been busy fielding inquiries from multiple government agencies.

What was supposed to be a covert operation had gone public. Now everyone wanted answers–whether the actions taken were legal, whether jurisdiction had been breached.

And through all this, Stone had come to realize just how deeply White’s family had infiltrated the upper ranks.

Most people would’ve caved by now, but not Stone, and certainly not the He family behind him.

The He family had a spotless legacy. So did Stone.

He gave a quick update, then prepared to leave again.

“Even though we’re doing everything we can to hold the line, I can’t say how long we’ll last. Be ready for the worst–case scenario.”

He paused, then added, “The Treno family’s completely entangled in this now.”

Honestly, he didn’t understand why Maddox had done it.

Families like theirs avoided taking sides at all costs. But the Treno family had clearly forgotten that rule.

When the Treno family was mentioned, Mateo’s eyes darkened, but he said nothing.

Johnathan showed no reaction. From the moment Maddox had made his decision, he had already expected this outcome.

Once Stone left, Mateo and Draven stayed for a bit longer before taking their leave as

well.

Sierra turned to Johnathan.

“The Victor family’s not going to let this go.”

“Yeah,” he said calmly.

Johnathan had been tracking the Victor family’s movements. With things blowing up the way they had, the Victors were already moving behind the scenes. Victor himself hadn’t taken action yet, but he would.

Aside from Johnathan’s own manipulations, it was clear the Victor family had helped stir the pot, fueling the fire behind the scenes.

There was one thing Johnathan hadn’t told Sierra: White had already survived several assassination attempts.

If not for Stone’s vigilance, White would’ve been dead by now.

It wasn’t hard to guess who was behind those hits.

White needed to die–but not yet, and definitely not while in their custody.

54 Mon,

Chapter 499 That Was the Choice He Made

While they were talking, the butler came in.

“There’s a call for you, sir. It’s international.”

Johnathan raised an eyebrow. He had a good idea who it was.

He nodded and headed for the study.

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13:54 Mon, 21 Jul ©OJ

Chapter 500 The Bait Is Set