Edward’s face went even darker. He glared at Echo for a long moment before letting out a cold snort. He then put on the air of someone who wouldn’t stoop to the level of arguing with a child and coldly said, “What would I have to resent? What’s there to hate? Dark family-victory or defeat, it’s just the way of the world. I don’t have any feelings for the Ford family. If the Dark family doesn’t kill me first, I’ll make my move eventually. As for being bothered-ha, what should I be bothered about? This rare situation-it’s a once-in-a-century classic in underworld history.”
Echo couldn’t help but roll her eyes at what Edward said.
It was clear that talking about feelings in the underworld was like trying to play a violin to a cow.
While she wasn’t a particularly sentimental person, seeing the chaotic situation around her made her uneasy. The two families hadn’t even really gotten started, yet beneath them, the turmoil was already spreading. Countless people were being dragged into the mess. She wasn’t a cold-hearted person, but seeing the war started by the Dark and Street’s families spiral out of control, she couldn’t bring herself to make the cold, calculated moves that might be necessary. Maybe she was just too soft.
“Forget the fake stuff. If you don’t, you’ll never get what you want in this life,” Edward said sharply, his eyes sharp as a knife. Echo fell silent for a moment, and he immediately saw right through her.
Echo glanced at Edward, her voice flat. “If I didn’t have feelings, I wouldn’t even want something like that in the first place.”
Edward blinked, caught off guard. He was about to respond when his expression shifted, and he suddenly made a quick gesture with his hand.
He stood up, moving to Echo’s side and instantly adopting a more submissive, docile stance. He stopped talking, and Echo turned to see Ryan and Hawk walking toward them.
As they approached, Echo stood up and helped Ryan sit down, silently massaging his shoulders. Ryan glanced at her but didn’t say anything. He simply closed his eyes and leaned against her, not tired, but not pushing her away either.
Hawk and Tiger sat down as if they hadn’t noticed anything.
Cobra, looking at Edward who was standing stiffly, shot him a cold glance and said, “Leave.”
Edward, startled by Cobra’s sharp tone, quickly looked over at Echo. When she gave him a small nod, he moved away from Cobra and the others, walking toward the door with a pitiful look on his face, standing outside with wide eyes, staring back at Echo.
Echo barely reacted. She had seen this a thousand times. Whenever Hawk and the others had something to discuss with Ryan, they’d send Edward out. She wasn’t sure why he had to stand outside the door, though, as it seemed pointless.
As for Cobra’s attitude-well, she wasn’t Boss’s wife now, so she didn’t have the right to challenge them. Edward had once said, “Being polite is like not being polite at all if no one respects you.”
“Boss, Prince William, King George, and Count Owen have invited you to their son’s wedding at the Red Castle in Italy. Do you want to go?” Hawk said, his voice more serious than usual as he reported to Ryan.
Ryan didn’t show any emotion. He simply replied coldly, “When?”
“Three days from now. The wedding’s being thrown together really quickly.”
Ryan didn’t say anything, just closed his eyes as Echo continued to massage his shoulders.
Cobra raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like a peace mission. Three big shots all at once-this is some serious weight they’re throwing around.”
Echo blinked at this and raised an eyebrow. Prince William was from the Middle East, the region’s most powerful royal, and had a significant influence in the oil industry.
King George was the Pope of the Vatican in Italy. On the surface, he was just the Pope, but secretly, he came from a royal bloodline with one of the most prestigious positions in Europe and a massive network of influence. He didn’t do much directly, but his connections were spot on, and the result was a lot of respect and power behind the scenes, so his status in Europe was pretty high.
As for Count Owen, he was part of the British royal family. Even though the British monarchy didn’t get involved in politics anymore and only kept their royal titles, Count Owen wasn’t a small player. He had a huge presence in the Americas and had been working with both Ryan and Kevin, making him a major figure.
Now, these big shots were all getting involved in a marriage alliance. It was rare to see so many godfather-level figures showing up like this. It looked like the chaos had made even these powerful people unable to stay still.
Tiger listened to Cobra’s words and saw that Ryan wasn’t reacting. He spoke up in a low voice, “The marriage itself isn’t a big deal. If Boss wants to give face, he can. If not, he doesn’t have to. But I’ve heard that a lot of important people are being invited-leaders of big countries and top figures in the underworld. They’ve all agreed to go. Boss, do you think we should consider it?”
Normally, even if a few godfather-level families were joining forces, the heads of state and top underworld figures wouldn’t necessarily show up because of the “kings don’t meet kings” rule. But with everyone attending, it was obvious they had something bigger in mind.
Ryan slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Hawk and the others, and then turned to Echo. “Do you want to go?”
After hearing Tiger’s words, Echo already figured out that Cobra was right-it was about playing the peacemaker. She also guessed that Kevin was probably invited too.
Ryan’s style was clear to her-he was tough as nails. If you didn’t mess with him, you were fine. If you did, getting out unscathed wasn’t easy. He was asking her, but in reality, he didn’t want to go. He just didn’t want to take the first step.
But she wanted to go. Not for any specific reason, but because she didn’t want to see so many orphans in the world.
Every day, hearing reports from Hawk and the others, she understood that adults chose their path, but kids didn’t. She’d even looked into the sudden spike in orphans at the orphanages. It touched her soft spot, and she didn’t want the confrontation to spiral out of control.
“I want to go,” Echo said, meeting Ryan’s gaze with calm determination.
Ryan frowned slightly but didn’t say anything.
Echo gently massaged his shoulders and whispered, “Give them a little face, so we can part on good terms. Going shows that we’re willing. As for what happens after-no one can force you or control you, right?”
Ryan studied Echo for a long moment before turning his cold gaze on Hawk and the others. “Get ready.”
Hawk and the others immediately responded in unison. They were on the same page as Echo-going was the best option, keeping things smooth for now. What happened afterward was another story.