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For a moment, she completely forgot what she was going to say and just stood there, staring at Keira in shock.

Keira\'s sharp eyes locked onto Erin, waiting for her to explain what had happened to her mom. When Erin didn\'t respond, Keira grew even more anxious. "Say something!"

Erin swallowed hard. "I…"

Before she could get another word out, Lewis walked over and said calmly, "Your mom\'s probably fine."

That finally seemed to calm Keira down a bit.

She turned to Lewis. "What did you just say?"

Lewis continued, "She said your mom was in trouble, but it was probably just a test. She didn\'t expect you to get this worked up."

Keira quickly looked back at Erin. "Is that true?"

Erin was on the verge of tears and nodded. "Yes, your mom\'s fine! Besides, the news I get from the South family only comes in once a month. Even if something really had happened, I wouldn\'t know about it yet!"

Keira\'s mind finally started to clear.

She took a deep breath and let go of Erin.

Erin immediately stepped back several paces, putting some distance between them. Her face still showed fear.

Keira lowered her gaze, taking a moment to calm herself before looking back at Erin. "Alright, then. What was the point of all this?"

Still shaken, Erin lowered her voice, almost whispering. "I wasn\'t trying to cause trouble. I just…"

She hesitated for a second before continuing, "I just wanted you to think about how you\'d feel if something really did happen to your mom, and then…"

"And then I\'d do whatever you wanted, right?" Keira cut in, her voice cold.

Erin paused, then nodded slightly.

Keira\'s eyes narrowed. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear: my mom is off-limits. Whatever you want from me, don\'t you dare use her to try and push me."

She stepped forward, her tone sharp. "And I know you\'re in contact with the other heiresses. Make sure they get this message, too. I\'m not afraid of anyone, but if anyone tries to hurt my mom, I\'ll hunt them down to the ends of the earth."

Erin swallowed hard and nodded.

She had no doubt now…

Keira, for a brief moment, had looked like a completely different person—someone terrifying.

But Erin wasn\'t done yet.

Glancing up cautiously, she ventured, "Look, if you really don\'t want your mom to suffer while she\'s living under the South family\'s control, there are only two ways out. Either you become the heiress, or you support me in becoming one. So, can we at least agree to… bend the rules a little?"

Keira frowned, realizing now that Erin had been trying to use her mother\'s safety as leverage to make her do things she didn\'t want to do.

"What exactly are you asking me to do?" Keira asked.

Erin cleared her throat and then asked, "Do you know who Selena Horton\'s marrying?"

Keira blinked. "Isn\'t it someone from the Gill family?"

The Gills were one of Clance\'s five major families, and Selena had been linked to them, even pretending to have access to medicine from the Nora Institute.

Erin rolled her eyes. "Nope, not the Gills."

Keira glanced over at Lewis, who said, "She\'s marrying into the Cobb family."

"The Cobb family?"

Keira looked confused.

Lewis explained, "The Cobb family is very low-profile, so most people don\'t know much about them. They\'re not in business, which is why they aren\'t counted among Clance\'s five major families. But in reality, the Gills represent them within the five."

Keira paused, putting the pieces together. "So, that\'s why Mrs. Gill runs the household. Is her maiden name Cobb?"

Because of Austin and Nara, Mrs. Gill had given Keira a hard time. It was evident then that she was the head of the Gill family.

Keira had thought it was because Mr. Gill doted on his wife. As it turned out...

Lewis nodded. "Exactly."

Keira finally understood.

The Cobb family was the true power behind the Gills.

No wonder Mrs. Gill had been bold enough to challenge both the Freeman Sect and the Olsen family—she had strong backing.

Keira asked quickly, "Why can\'t the Cobb family go into business?"

"They\'ve got a lot of government connections. It wouldn\'t be appropriate." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lewis\'s response was diplomatic, but Keira understood immediately. They were involved with the government.

That made sense. They couldn\'t do business, but their influence was undeniable.

She turned back to Erin. "So, what are you getting at?"

Erin crouched down next to Keira. "Selena\'s marrying someone from a distant branch of the Cobb family. He\'s the nephew of the head of the family, and he\'s been making a name for himself for years. He\'s got some influence now, but his wife\'s in jail, and he\'s hoping the Hortons will provide a letter of clemency to get her out."

Keira was stunned. "What?"

Erin cleared her throat again. "Let me spell it out. The Cobb family is basically the Gills, and just taking down the Gills isn\'t enough. If you cross the Cobbs, you still won\'t have full control over Clance\'s five major families. So, what you need to do is back off and let Selena off the hook."