Chapter 281: What Are You Going to Do... With Me?

Since being brought back, Phoebe Peyton had been locked away in the old Peyton family estate. Titus and Elijah Peyton were at odds over how to handle her.

Elijah Peyton was her father, after all. While he was angry about what had happened, he wasn’t apoplectic. He thought they could simply marry Phoebe off in an alliance to make some use of her.

But Titus Peyton refused. If this affair hadn’t implicated Liam Peyton, he might have turned a blind eye.

But Phoebe Peyton’s biggest mistake was dragging Liam Peyton into her scheme against Leah Sinclair that night. Even if the plot had succeeded, Phoebe would have met a grim fate the moment she was found out.

Titus Peyton saw it as a provocation from the second branch against the main one. Worse still, not only did the plot fail, but it was also discovered by the Grant and Keating families. The Grant Family had already suspended numerous collaborations with the Peytons.

In Titus Peyton’s own words, “What is wrong with her? Is there no internet abroad? She couldn’t watch *Empresses in the Palace*? Couldn’t she learn a thing or two about how women fight over a man? Did all that Western food clog up her brain? She can’t even scheme properly. With pathetic skills like that, she wants to compete with the one who hasn’t even been born?”

Liam Peyton let out a soft sigh. He stood and walked toward the place where Phoebe Peyton was being held. At three in the morning, the old Peyton estate was utterly silent. He stepped out of the main house.

In the courtyard, two large black dogs named Fortune and Prosperity immediately lifted their heads, ears perked. When they saw it was Liam Peyton, they let out a lazy yawn and lay back down.

At the entrance to a secluded storeroom out back, the guards were surprised to see Liam Peyton approaching. They quickly straightened up and greeted him. “Young Master, what brings you here so late?”

“Yes. I’ve come to see her. Open the door,” Liam Peyton said, his voice impassive.

The iron door opened with a loud CREAK, waking Phoebe Peyton, who had been curled up asleep in a corner. Liam Peyton flicked on the light. The sudden, harsh glare made Phoebe squint. She lifted her eyes to the man slowly approaching her and pursed her lips.

Having been confined here for nearly half a month, Phoebe Peyton had not taken a single step outside. Her once gentle and dignified image was long gone. Liam Peyton stood before her, his gaze chilling as he looked down at her.

Phoebe Peyton quietly watched him in return. All this time, no matter how she begged or cursed, no one had come to see her. Except for the food and water brought to her each day, it was as if she no longer existed.

Her voice rose, tinged with sarcasm. “Heh. So, you’ve finally come to see me, Brother. What’s the verdict?”

“Morgan Sterling won’t make it. Asher Keating is severely injured,” Liam Peyton stated calmly.

Phoebe Peyton’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had assumed Morgan Sterling was merely captured. As the reality of the situation sank in, she began to tremble uncontrollably.

‘If Morgan Sterling had only been captured, at least… at least I’d still have a chance. A chance to be forgiven.’ But now… although she didn’t know the details, with Asher Keating grievously wounded and Morgan Sterling not expected to live… Liam had said he *wouldn’t make it*, not that he was dead. Phoebe knew she was done for.

“What… are you all planning… to do with me?”

Terror laced Phoebe Peyton’s voice. The calmer Liam appeared, the more she panicked. He had always given her the impression of being composed and warm, but the man standing before her now terrified her.

Liam Peyton simply watched her in silence. Phoebe lost track of time. Just as she was beginning to daze off, thinking he wouldn’t speak again, she heard him let out a long, slow sigh.

“Phoebe, do you know what the worst thing you did was?”

“I’m sorry, Brother! I… I know. I shouldn’t have included you in my scheme. But I was just trying to help you! I know you like Leah Grant. If that day… if that day…”

Becoming frantic, Phoebe crawled forward and grabbed Liam’s leg, breaking down in sobs. “Brother, I was wrong! Help me, I’m begging you! I’ll agree to the marriage alliance, I’ll do anything! Just don’t kill me… I know I was wrong, Brother!”

“Hah.”

Liam Peyton’s lips curved into a smirk. “Kill you? Relax. We won’t do that.”

“Then… then…”

Liam pulled his leg away and crouched in front of Phoebe. He looked at her ashen face and spoke slowly. “You’re a member of the Peyton family. After my aunt passed away, my uncle—your father—may not have been the most attentive, but he never let you want for food or clothing. Your life has been far, far better than that of an ordinary person. Even if you did nothing, you could have lived in comfort for the rest of your days.”

“You enjoy everything the Peyton family has given you—its reputation, its benefits, its resources. You should have known that none of those things come for free. Phoebe, if you’d had the guts to leave the family, I, as your cousin, would have done everything in my power to help you. But you… you want all the perks of being a Peyton while simultaneously undermining the family. Hah…”

“Did you really think that if something had happened between Leah and me that night, she would have willingly married me? That the Grant Family would have simply gone along with an alliance? Did you think Asher Keating wouldn’t have cared, or that the Grant Family is so desperate they need to cover up a scandal?”

Liam looked at Phoebe, who had momentarily stopped crying, and let out another soft sigh. “Phoebe, we now need to give the Grant and Keating families a suitable explanation. The only thing I can do… is make you as… comfortable as possible.”

Those three words drained all the color from Phoebe’s face. Liam stood up, not sparing her another glance.

Phoebe scrambled over and clutched his leg. “Brother, I was wrong! I know I was wrong! Don’t do this to me! Please, I’m begging you, don’t do this! You can do anything else! Send me to marry that old geezer from the Holt family, I don’t care! Just don’t do this to me, Brother!”

Tears and snot streamed down Phoebe’s face as she sobbed. She knew what awaited her, and a profound terror gripped her heart. She was filled with regret. She had hesitated before going through with the scheme, but her desire to humiliate Leah Sinclair had been too strong to resist.

Liam watched her silently for a moment before speaking slowly. “Do you think you still have any value as a bride in an alliance? No matter who you marry, the Grant Family will never let you go. Phoebe… you have to take responsibility for what you’ve done. But don’t worry. The Peyton family will provide for you for the rest of your life.”

With that, Liam pulled his leg free and walked out without a backward glance. As the door swung shut, he said softly, “Get her out of here tomorrow. Don’t dirty the estate. After it’s done, send her abroad.”

“Young Master, should we inform the patriarch and…”

“No need. I will speak to them. You just do as you’re told.”

Liam didn’t look back. He lit a cigarette and spoke in that same impassive tone. Taking a deep drag, he lifted his gaze to the distant sky, a viscous, inky black. As the white smoke slowly dissipated, his expression became unreadable, shrouded in shadow.

「Riverfall. The hospital.」

Leah Sinclair didn’t wake until the following morning. She was still groggy when her eyes opened, but as she came to her senses, she struggled to sit up.

Mabel Grant, who had been on the phone, quickly hung up when she saw Leah was awake. She rushed over, her voice trembling with emotion. “Leah, you’re awake! How do you feel?”