Winner Takes All

The atmosphere was tensed in the meeting hall.

Everyone was fuming with anger but no one dared to speak. Even when Zenith swaggered in to take Jack away, everyone just looked on but didn't stop him.

What Zenith said before he left was like a slap across everyone's face and the pain stung intensely. Since when had the Hughes family suffered such insult? It was deadly silent for a long while. Some murmuring began ten minutes after Jack and Zenith left. One of the authority holders went forward to close the doors of the meeting hall and the situation in the hall erupted.

"Preposterous! What a humiliation!" Carter ground his teeth as he fumed, "How can my Hughes family be humiliated to such an extent, and yet everyone dared not even say a word?" As soon as Carter spoke, everyone else started to express their fury. It was as if Carter's words opened the dam.

"Shameful. Now the Hughes family's reputation has been totally tarnished."

"Zenith of the Dragon Cavalry really has some balls!"

"To think that the life of an heir was only worth twenty slashes. Zenith was even willing to take the blame for George's death. I had heard of Zenith's dominance of the north through tyranny but today I've finally seen it for myself. He's a tyrant, no, he is no better than any other thug!"

The yells and rebuke reverberated through the hall. Patrick sat in his chair in silence. He simply observed their expressions and listened to what they had to say. Patrick scoffed in his heart but his gaze was full of disgust for them.

The group of authority holders of the Hughes family ... could only vent their anger in frustration and were helpless to do anything. If just this was to leak out it would attract the ridicule of everyone. "Patrick, your wishes came true!" Madam Hughes sat upright in her chair as she trembled with anger. Her eyes were red and welled up with tears as she glared ferociously at Patrick.

The entire meeting hall became silent after she spoke and everyone looked at Patrick. It was clear to everyone that although Patrick maintained neutral and calm, everyone knew that he was putting up an act. His procrastination, the words that he said, everything was too steady and calm. When everyone was so worried that they were tearing out their hair, Patrick as the head of the family, was able to maintain such composure and calmness. Everyone could see how he protected and sheltered Jack.

Anger, disdain, shame... All kinds of feelings were raging in each of the authority holders as they glared at Patrick.

"Ah!" Patrick grinned and said, "Does Madam Hughes think that I had done anything inappropriate?"

"You were inappropriate in many areas!"

Smack! Madam Hughes slapped on the table, "As the head of the family, the reputation of the family had been tarnished to this extent and you are still ruled by your emotions? Think of what your attitude was from the beginning of this matter, have you ever considered for the family? Have you thought about how our lives are affected by you?"

The question was loaded and rocked the entire hall.

Carter and the rest of the authority holders now shifted their anger towards Patrick. But Patrick was calm and smiled radiantly. He looked at Madam Hughes with mischief and disdain.

His expression worked up the rest further. All of them ground their teeth and clenched their teeth.

Then, Patrick slowly said, "If Zenith didn't appear, I swear that I would have strictly handled this issue in accordance with the Hughes family regulations, even if Jack is my son."

Patrick paused, raised his eyebrow, and slowly scanned at the people around and finally looked at Madam Hughes and said sternly, “Everyone here is an authority holder of the Hughes family. Though you are within my authority and other than that useless Archer, all of you are noblemen and elites. I don't think that there is a need for me to say anymore except making a final statement."

Everyone frowned as they looked at Patrick and after several tensed moments, Patrick continued, "After Zenith descended upon the Hughes family, do you think that we had any choice?" It was like everyone was hit with the pause button and froze. They looked on without any reaction. Some were so embarrassed that they blushed and lowered their heads. Even Madam Hughes and Carter were stumped by what Patrick said.

Zenith's sudden arrival and demanding for Jack to become one of the Dragon Cavalry was tyrannical. He wasn't there to negotiate and made it abundantly clear to everyone his demands.

Everyone knew that there was no other way than to accede to Zenith's demands. It was also because of Zenith's tyrannical methods that caused the atmosphere in the meeting hall to be so tensed and thick with emotions.

"Since everyone here couldn't stand up to him, what do you expect me as the head of the family to do?" Patrick leaned back onto his chair and scoffed, "Oh my Hughes family. Since all of you were cowering in fear, do you still expect me to stick out my head to be slaughtered? You've got to be joking!"

"If just now I were to be like all of you to throw a tantrum and fight with Zenith to the end, then as the head of the family I will tell you that we will definitely win. But the price of the victory would not be one that you are willing to bear."

"All of you know better than this. You can calculate the risks. Do you think that I can't?"

Suddenly everyone felt shameful of their behavior. Patrick didn't sugar coat his words. He laid it out to let everyone know the duplicity of their behavior.

Did they want to preserve themselves while pushing the head of the family to sacrifice himself? Couldn't Patrick protect himself as he watched them being intimidated by Zenith like terrified dogs? No one could argue with such reasoning.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Then, Madam Hughes ground her teeth and said, "But in the end the one who benefited is you. Your son only received twenty slashes. Now you even said that this matter is resolved!"

Bang!

Patrick smacked the table, "Madam, have you no shame? The person who protected Jack wasn't me. It was that mythical man Commander Zenith! Even me and the intelligence unit of our Hughes family didn't know what was the relationship between Zenith and Jack!"

Patrick went from fury to laughter as he clapped his hands and shrugged his shoulders, "Madam Hughes, you want so much to kill Jack so as to revenge George. But did you feel the same when you were facing Zenith? So, I'd like to ask you... have you no shame?"☐☐☐☐☐