Ryan''s face showed no emotion. Just as he stepped forward, Liam quickly blocked his way with a forced smile. "Ryan, let''s talk this over calmly. After all, Zoe is your younger sister. There''s no need to get so worked up. I''ve watched both of you grow up. I remember how much you used to dote on her when you were kids..."


    "This is our family matter. What right do you have to speak here as an outsider?" Ryan''s eyes instantly filled with frost,pletely dismissing Liam.


    Liam''s smile froze on his face.


    "Ryan! This is your uncle you''re talking to! How can you speak to an elder like that?" ire was both furious and embarrassed, her face flushed with anger.


    Ryan ignored her, staring coldly at Zoe. "I have something to say to Zoe. Could you both please give us some space?"


    Zoe trembled like a leaf in her mother''s arm.


    ire would not dare leave them alone together, so she sternly refused. "There are no outsiders here. Your uncle is not an outsider either. If you have something to say, say it. Or else, just don''t say anything at all!"


    "Fine. I tried to be considerate. But you''re the one neglecting their pride. That has nothing to do with me."


    With dangerous strides, Ryan approached Zoe, his voice as cold as thunder striking above her head. "Zoe, you''re indeed clever,ing up with the idea to conspire with your dearest uncle, pretending to be sick and pitiful just to get back here. Well, your uncle is also willing to make sacrifices, even getting you poison that can cause cardiac arrest. Heh, how ruthless. But then again, you aren''t his biological child. If his scheme seeded, you''d owe him a favor. But if something goes wrong and you end up in the morgue, that would have been your fate. It would have nothing to do with him. How clever!"


    With just a few words, Ryan exposed their scheme. Zoe''s and Liam''s expressions changed instantly.


    ire looked at Liam in disbelief, then turned to Ryan. "Ryan, w-what did you just say?!"


    Ryan''s lips curled into a cold, wicked


    smile. "Mom you love her the most. When she was little, you couldn''t


    elfoet


    even sleep when she was in pain or if she needed an injection or medicine. But our uncle here gave your daughter poison. Zoe is young and reckless. But what about him? Doesn''t he know better at his age?"


    Panicking, Zoe turned even paler, her eyes darting around, not daring to speak.


    On the brink of a breakdown, ire stared at Liam with red eyes, trembling as she questioned, "Liam... Is what Ryan said true?!"


    "ire, that''s absolutely not true!"


    More resilient under pressure than Zoe, Liam immediately argued back. "I''ve always treated Zoe like my own daughter How could I possibly harm her?! Besides, Ryan, you had Zoe guarded like a prisoner in Inalia. Who could even get close to her? Even if I had the intention, I don''t have the reach to pull something like that off!" Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Ryan mocked him slowly. "Uncle, aren''t you being modest? If you can''t do it, no one else in the entire


    Hoffman family can. I know about all the heinous things you''ve done over the years. Why are you always hanging around our house like a weasel with nothing to do? If you


    el.


    Want to retire early, there you


    no need


    to go to such lengths. I can inform Grandpa about it on your behalf. Whether you''re in the Hoffman Group or not makes no difference at


    all."


    ire looked at Liam in shock, her gaze growing increasinglyplicated. Yet, she pressed her lips together, saying nothing.


    Infuriated, Liam let out a stifled cough, his stiff face flushing red and then turning pale.


    He knew all too well how much his sister-inw doted on her children. They were her life.


    Ryan''s words were undoubtedly eroding ire''s trust in Liam.


    If ire truly became wary of Liam, it wouldplicate his actions in the future.