Astonishment also appeared on Theodore Turner’s face, leaving on it a ghastly expression.
He gave a sharp scan over all the people in the hall and then coldly stared at the several servants operating the computer nearby.
Impossible, this was impossible. They were faithful servants. Besides, they only clicked the mouse when the results were displayed since they have been watched by everyone present along the whole process. It was impossible for them to massage the figure.
If it wasn’t because of a technical problem, the truth could only be that Ernest Hawkins was exactly supported by that many people when they were at the moment threatened and misled by Theodore.
Theodore’s face looked extremely grim. He held back his anger and reacted swiftly to announce the result in a calm and oppressive voice,
“Although it is a close vote, since it is an open meeting, there must be a decision on the matter. Given that there are ten more people supporting the attack, the final decision will be to carry out the attack on the Fraser family.
“No!”
The Second Elder Finley sprang to his feet and retorted, “There are precedents in previous open meetings – if the votes between the two parties are close, it will be regarded as a tie. What our Turner family respects is always the opinion of the overwhelming majority of the family, and we think highly of our domestic peace. If we reject and deny the ideas of half of the family only because of a few votes, it will be extremely detrimental to the internal harmony in the future. We will never do that!”
At the words, Theodore wore a greater scowl. His ice-cold eyes pierced towards Finley, wishing badly to dismember him.
Finley, however, was quite unyielding and he was not afraid of Theodore at all.
He knew very well that he had already completely pissed Turner off on the day when he followed Ernest Hawkins into the treasure house, and sooner or later, according to Turner’s personality, he and his followers would definitely be driven away.
Therefore, the only way for him to survive in the Turner family was to fully support Ernest.
Theodore suppressed his anger and pretended to be composed.
He said authoritatively, “Since it is about our future, a decision must be made on whether to attack the Fraser family now, without any delay. Even if the votes are close, there must be a decision.”
His sharp gaze skimmed around the hall with a hint of heavy coercion, terrifying all the people instantly,
“As the head of the family, I must bring a final decision to today’s affair. I now declare that we will deal with this special circumstance with special means, even though it is only a ten-vote gap, we will follow the result.”
Finley suddenly became extremely angry.
Although he did not know why there were so many people supporting Ernest as it turned out, he would have won the game if it had not been for those ten votes.
It still fell short.
Fretfully, when he was about to refute again, Ernest gently shook his head at him.
A casual smile appeared at the corner of Ernest’s mouth, he said insouciantly,
“Well, since a ten-vote gap can also make a difference, I shall undoubtedly follow our leader’s will.”
He cast a look at the Seventh Elder, “However, I believe that you haven’t voted yet, Mr. Keenan Turner? As one of the Elders of the Turner family, your vote works as much as ten votes do. So, in the face of such an important moment concerning the future of the family, I think that you should show your own attitude and give us your best help. Am I right?”
Keenan was immediately placed at the center of everyone’s focus as Ernest suddenly labeled him as the key person to the decision.
Now everyone was looking at him now.
There were also hundreds of other abstentions on the spot; but since those people are different from the high-ranking elders, no one would say anything about their abstentions.
Whereas, when it comes to such an endless dispute, even one vote from the elder, which can be seen as ten ordinary votes, could make a huge difference.
If the Seventh Elder supports Theodore, the decision to attack the Fraser family will be approved.
Otherwise, there would be a tie which could evince his opposition to the attack.
Thus, Keenan held the final power to decide.
Suddenly having become the center of attention, he felt totally uneasy, with his face gradually stiffened.
He said awkwardly, “Well, idleness has always been my style and I actually know very little about our domestic affairs. I am not sure if I can make the right choice.”
“Just follow your heart. If you vote for the attack, I’ll not care about the twenty-vote gap any more, and follow our leader’s will sincerely.”
Ernest said nonchalantly, but with great seriousness.
This situation was rather against him in that, among thousands of people, even 20 more votes for the attack could not actually fully convince the relative minority to obey the will of the relative majority.
Yet, since he, the main character in the affair, had already agreed, no one would complain.
Keenan looked more bitter and frowned much harder, wishing to disappear instantly.
Why couldn’t they just let him be an outsider and enjoy his own life? Why should they ask him to make a choice like this, either to offend the elder leader or the younger leader?
Theodore was also a little surprised at Ernest’s action, and he cast a meaningful look towards Ernest.
Although Ernest was his grandson, he could not understand this young man’s mind at all.
Under his calm and indifferent appearance, Ernest could create great senses of pressure and crisis perturbing all the people on the spot.
Frowning, after weighing various choices, Theodore still couldn’t deny that Keenan’s vote would be the best way out at present.
He knew that most people would not be fully convinced and there would definitely be a lot of gossips in the end if he decided on the matter only according to this small ten-vote gap.
However, if there were ten more votes from Keenan on his side for him to make the decision, no one would gossip or be insincere afterwards.
That would be the best.
He looked profoundly at Keenan and said,
“Keenan, no matter how idle or indifferent to the family affairs you are in usual, I won’t judge nor interfere with your life. But this time, the decision we make would decide our fate; so, you must shoulder your responsibility as Keenan of the family and make your choice.”
This statement sounded fine and even showed a sense of selflessness.
Yet, in the ear of Keenan, it was full of hints.
Over the years, thanks to Theodore’s magnanimousness, unlike the Eighth Elder Kevin who had always been bullied, he could live his own way of life, comfortably and freely, which was quite satisfying.
Therefore, if he stood for the attack, on the side of Theodore, he could still enjoy his freedom; otherwise, he would see the end of his wonderful days.
For such a liberty-lover as he was, for his future, he was not supposed to choose the side of Ernest.
Thus, the answer was almost clear.
“Well, I will vote.” Keenan agreed reluctantly.
He slowly picked up the voting machines, gave a look at Theodore and then at Ernest with uncertainty in his eyes, and then made his press on it after a deep sigh.
At this moment, everyone suddenly became tense and stared at the big screen behind them apprehensively.
The vote determined not only the final result of the meeting but also the future possibilities of the Turner family’s development within a few decades.
War or peace?
With his heart in his mouth, Finley tightly held Kevin’s arm and peered uneasily at the tree graph on the screen.
The grab caused such great pain that Kevin scratched Finley’s fingers until they turned dark red, which had Finley in a convulsion.
He really wanted to shake Kevin’s arm away, but at such a critical moment, he did not even dare to blink, for fear of missing the result. So, he could do nothing but endure the pain.
Everyone was nervous to death with their eyes staring intently at the screen except for Ernest, who picked up a cup of tea and took a leisure sip.
His gaze was unfathomable.