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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nGordon was dumbfounded by the sudden slap, and it took him a long time to react. Covering his face with his hand, he exclaimed, “Dad, why did you hit me?!”

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nHugo said coldly, “Hit you? I really wish I could kick you to death! You son of a bitch, tell me, what have you done out there?!”

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nGordon was naturally displeased. “What could I have done? I’ve been staying in the office! When I was bullied, you didn’t even ask the doctor about my condition. You just blamed me!”

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nHugo barked angrily, “Hmph, you’re still trying to defend yourself, huh?! If you hadn’t fooled around outside and offended someone you can’t afford to offend, would we be facing this crisis today? Things have already gotten to this point, but you still won’t tell me the truth, huh?”

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nChris tried to knock some sense into him. “Gordon, who have you offended? Just tell us. Don’t provoke Dad any further. If you tell us, we can also come up with a solution for you!”

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nChris’s words made Gordon lose his temper, and he vented all his anger on him. “Sure, I was wondering why I’m getting blamed and accused by everyone as soon as I came home. You must have been fanning the flames and deliberately trying to frame me! Chris, you’re just afraid that I’ll compete with you for the position of successor, so you deliberately set me up in front of Dad and the rest of the family, didn’t you?”

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nHearing his words, Hugo became even more exasperated, and his blood pressure rose. “Sinful son! Sinful son! If you still don’t repent, don’t blame me! This is the death of me! Someone, punish him with the family laws! I must kill this unfilial son!”

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n“What? Family laws?” Gordon immediately widened his eyes in disbelief.

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nOnly when a few family members moved a bench over and a burly man walked toward Gordon with a wooden mace did he believe Hugo!

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nHis father was actually using the family laws against him!

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nFamilies like the Douglas family with a rich heritage would often have some family laws for constraining the behavior of the members.

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nHowever, people nowadays rarely used their family laws to punish their members.

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nThe Douglas family’s most-used punishment tool was the terrifying mace that would form holes in your body. It was horrifying!

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nSeeing that two more family members were coming to take him and tie him to a bench under the order of Hugo, Gordon was terrified out of his wits and no longer cared about anything else. He immediately knelt in front of Hugo and begged for forgiveness. “Father, I was wrong! I won’t dare to disobey you anymore, and I won’t quarrel with Chris either. Please don’t punish me using the family laws! If you’re upset, you can scold me a few more times or slap me a few more times!”

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nHugo looked at Gordon with a straight face and reprimanded, “Then tell me honestly what you’ve done and which big shot you’ve offended to cause our family to suffer such a great calamity.”

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nGordon really wanted to cry. “Father, I really didn’t offend any big shot. I’ve been in the business for decades, so what kind of person could I have offended? Why would I be so ignorant as to offend a big shot? What’s wrong with the family? What calamity? I just came back. No one told me about it!”

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nHugo waved his hand, and Chris stepped forward. “Just half an hour ago, all of our companies, clubs, bathhouses, and more were all seized, and there’s a lot of evidence against us. If we can’t find out which bigwig we’ve offended, our family will be destroyed!”

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nGordon was shocked on the spot. He asked in disbelief, “How is that possible?! Our family has deep roots in Orange County, and we’ve established a wide network of connections long ago. Who would disregard our status and directly seize all of our companies?”

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nLooking at his son, Hugo roared coldly, “You think it’s impossible? Would we deliberately scare you with this kind of thing?! The most important thing now is to think carefully about who you offended!”

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nGordon immediately panicked, but a word that Chris said just now appeared in his mind.

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nDestroyed.

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nRight. Why does this word… sound so familiar?

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nDo you think the Douglas family is a big deal? If your family is destroyed, do you think you’d still have the right to be so arrogant to me?

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nLucas had said these words to him with a sneer. Gordon was immediately reminded of it, but he was in disbelief.

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n“No… Impossible… How can he have the ability to destroy my family… That’s impossible!” Gordon’s eyes glazed over as he muttered to himself continuously.

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nAfter hearing his words, Hugo immediately grasped his main point. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Gordon. “Who are you talking about?”

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nGordon blinked and looked at Hugo as though he was having a nightmare.

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n“I-it’s Lucas Gray, the son-in-law of the Carters. He beat Brad, so I nabbed his wife and wanted to get back at him. But he has an underling who’s a good fighter. He even threatened me by saying that he would destroy the Douglas family, but how is that possible? The Carters are a powerless third-rate family, and he’s a wastrel! Besides, he was the one who beat Brad badly and almost made the fighter I hired kill me instead…”

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nGordon was rather muddled, but his words allowed everyone to get a clear idea of what happened.

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nHugo kicked Gordon hard. “Indeed, the trouble was caused by you!”

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nAfter getting kicked, Gordon fell to the ground and shrieked in pain when his fractured toe hit the hard floor. However, facing Hugo’s rage, he could only explain, “But Dad, Lucas Gray is really a good-for-nothing! This must be a coincidence!”

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n“Good-for-nothing? Coincidence? You’re just a fool!” Hugo hollered angrily while looking at Gordon with a resolute gaze. “Serve him the family punishment! Break his legs!”

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n“No, don’t, Dad! Please spare me!” Gordon panicked and begged loudly for mercy.

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nA few family members got the hint from Chris’s gaze. They went forward, pulled Gordon on top of the bench, and tied him with his face facing down. Then they hit him hard on his thighs with the mace.

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n“Ah!” The loud shriek of misery resounded in the Douglas family residence.

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nHugo closed his eyes, unable to bring himself to watch this scene. However, the incessant cries made his face twitch.

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n“Dad, look, why don’t we spare Gordon? He didn’t do it on purpose…” Chris persuaded.

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nHugo opened his eyes abruptly, and his gaze became firm again, “No, we must make Gordon go through the punishment! Take him with you tomorrow to see Lucas Gray to apologize. You must obtain his forgiveness!”

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n“Yes, Dad.” Chris agreed with a faint but peculiar glint in his eyes.

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