CHAPTER 539: CHAPTER 539: DUMBFOUNDED

Mrs. Kane received the call and was overjoyed. It was simply wonderful that Ivana was caught so quickly.

"Keep a close eye on her, and make sure she doesn’t find a chance to escape."

Escape?

Wasn’t Ivana supposed to be taken to "The City That Never Sleeps" to shoot "motion pictures"?

The man on the phone didn’t have time to ask before Mrs. Kane hung up.

"Sir, it seems like Mrs. Kane still wants us to keep her in prison."

The man looked at Kyle Sinclair in confusion.

Kyle’s gaze was shifty, then suddenly he said:

"Are you stupid? Such a simple thing, and you can’t guess the meaning?"

The man: "..."

Kyle angrily said, "Mrs. Kane means to send this bitch to ’The City That Never Sleeps’ first, then to prison to film it. Absolutely must not let her escape. If this bitch gets out, finds Leon Keane, wouldn’t that affect the mother-son relationship between Mrs. Kane and Leon?"

Kyle felt a twisted satisfaction. He didn’t expect Mrs. Kane to be the one doing this to Ivana.

With a cold smile, Kyle planned that after Ivana dies, he’d personally take the video of her before being defiled and present it to Leon, telling him this was his mother’s handiwork.

Ivana wasn’t the only one responsible for his sister’s death. Mrs. Kane played a part as well. If not for her selfishness calling his sister back from abroad, how would his sister have fallen into the hands of Ivana and Leon?

He wanted revenge. He wanted everyone who was responsible for his sister’s death to face retribution.

A dark, vengeful light flickered in Kyle’s eyes.

~

Mrs. Kane entered the Dowager’s room.

She didn’t immediately speak, and her hands were tightly clenched, as if hesitant.

The Dowager saw her expression, frowned, and said, "If you have something to say, say it. If not, leave. Stop wearing that irritating expression."

Mrs. Kane opened her mouth, and just as the Dowager thought she was about to speak, Mrs. Kane closed it again.

The Dowager felt a wave of irritation, coldly saying, "Get out!"

Mrs. Kane hesitated, glanced at the Dowager, didn’t say much, and turned to leave.

The Dowager nearly threw her cane at her. She had never liked this daughter-in-law. It had a lot to do with Mrs. Kane’s personality, and now she thought of Ivana.

Both Mrs. Kane and Ivana were daughters-in-law, but Mrs. Kane couldn’t compare to Ivana.

She admired Ivana’s candid personality.

At the doorway, Mrs. Kane suddenly stopped. She certainly wouldn’t just leave, wasting the Dowager’s time was all about manipulating the old woman’s mood. If she said things outright, this shrewd elder would surely become suspicious.

"Mom, I didn’t want to say anything, but with such a big issue, I can’t remain silent!"

"What on earth is going on?"

The Dowager’s voice was stern. How did she end up with a daughter-in-law like this?

The Dowager couldn’t help but doubt if she had committed some sin in her past life to deserve this.

Mrs. Kane stopped speaking again, approached the Dowager, slowly knelt down, and instantly tears streamed down her face: "Mom, I’m sorry to you, I’m sorry to Dad, and I’m sorry to the ancestors of the Kane family."

"Don’t waste words. Get to the point?"

The Dowager had a bad feeling from the moment Mrs. Kane entered. Her words now completely unsettled her.

Mrs. Kane cried and said: "The Kane Group’s capital chain is in trouble. It may now face bankruptcy."

The Dowager felt a dizzying sensation.

After a moment.

The Dowager recovered, gasping: "How... how can this be?"

Her treasured grandson was young and promising, exceptionally smart. Under his leadership, the Kane Group reached unprecedented heights, even surpassing what the Old Man achieved in his lifetime.

How could problems suddenly arise?

The Dowager was incredulous.

"Yes! How could it be? I also wish it were just a dream, a joke, which isn’t real." Mrs. Kane sniffled and continued, "But it’s real. Banks in Ravenswood aren’t willing to lend to the Kane Group now that Leon is severely injured. It’s truly a case of everyone pushing after the wall tumbles; they won’t give us a chance to survive."

Hearing about Leon’s injury made the Dowager’s heart ache again.

"It’s always been human nature to fawn over the powerful and step on the weak." The Dowager sighed, instantly seeming to age several years, her age-worn hands instinctively touching the jade bracelet on her wrist: "Honestly tell me, how much money does the Kane Group need to turn things around?"

"Eight..." Mrs. Kane paused and then said, "Eighty billion."

Saying eight billion to the Dowager seemed too little.

Because with her overseas estate and the antiques inside, the Dowager could make at least thirty billion if she sold them all off.

If a solution to this crisis was immediately thought of, the Dowager might very likely spare Ivana for Ian and Timmy’s sake.

To be safe, she opted for a number even the Dowager would be powerless to meet.

"Eight... eighty... billion?"

The Dowager’s voice trembled.

"Yes."

Mrs. Kane nodded as she cried.

The Dowager looked worried, took off the jade bracelet from her wrist, and placed it in Mrs. Kane’s hand.

Mrs. Kane eyed the jade bracelet—was the Dowager senile? This piece, though an antique, was worth at most tens of millions, wasn’t it? Giving it to her wasn’t much help!

"Mom, you’ve worn this bracelet for decades. Besides, it’s not worth that much, so you should keep wearing it!"

Mrs. Kane didn’t want anything from the Dowager, least of all personal items like this jade bracelet that only disgusted her, reminding her of the Dowager’s disdain.

"This is the Auspicious Dragon Bracelet Empress Wu Zetian wore at her coronation, symbolizing holding dragon power. It’s made from a rare Millennium Snow Jade. At auction, you mustn’t let it go for less than twenty billion. I trust someone will pay that for it."

Mrs. Kane was stunned.

After thirty years at the Kane family, she didn’t know the value of the Dowager’s bracelet.

A thorn of resentment lodged in Mrs. Kane’s heart. The Dowager clearly never saw her as a daughter-in-law; a treasured item like this was hidden from her. If not for the Kane Group’s current crisis, the Dowager might have taken it to her grave.

She planned to keep this treasure hidden till her death, to be buried with it.

"Alright, Mom."

Mrs. Kane accepted the bracelet the Dowager gave her. Holding it, she felt its delicate and smooth texture— far superior to any jade she ever bought.

With the jade bracelet in hand.

"But, Mom, we’re still far from eighty billion."

As expected.

The Dowager patted Mrs. Kane’s shoulder, somewhat reluctantly saying: "I have an estate overseas, full of antiques. If you sell it all, it should fetch around sixty billion."

Mrs. Kane was dumbfounded once again.

What?

The Dowager had that much money?

The estate and antiques far exceeded her expectations.

She felt deeply unbalanced.

Both daughters-in-law of the Kane family, why did the Dowager have so much, and she so little?

Taking a deep breath, she decided to claim the Dowager’s assets for herself.