Chapter 545 - 541: Persuasion

"Where we’re staying is none of your business, so stop worrying about things that don’t concern you." The old lady shook her arm, ever mindful of making her stance clear in front of Zelda Warner.

"Now, what kind of talk is that? As his younger brother, shouldn’t I help my big brother take care of his wife?" Tony Yates paid his mother’s attitude no mind. He jerked his chin toward Zelda Warner with a smirk and asked, "Right, sis-in-law?"

Waiting for the verdict was already nerve-racking, and Tony Yates’s incessant chatter only made everyone more irritated.

Cecilia Sterling immediately looked at Duane. "Duane, help Zelda to the car. She can wait there."

Duane nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Zelda Warner say calmly, "It’s fine. I’ll wait right here."

’She was afraid the trial might end abruptly, and she would miss her chance to see Jeb.’

Duane glanced at Cecilia Sterling, who gave a resigned nod. She then turned to Tony Yates and said coldly, "If you can be quiet, you can stand here. If not, stand somewhere else."

Mr. Young also shot him a cold look from the side. Tony Yates pursed his lips and took his mother by the arm. "Mom, come over here with me. I want to talk to you."

The old lady’s brow furrowed, and she protested, "I’m not going. I want to wait here for your brother."

"Oh, come on. The hearing doesn’t even start until nine, and there’ll be a recess. It might not be over until this afternoon, so what’s the rush?" Tony Yates tightened his grip, physically dragging the old woman away. "They won’t let me talk, and your son misses you. I mean, you have a home, but you never come back."

Cecilia Sterling just watched coldly as Tony Yates dragged his mother into the distance. ’Given the circumstances, she was in no mood to deal with him. All that mattered was getting some peace and quiet.’

"What do you think you’re doing?" Once they were a safe distance away, the old lady irritably shook her son’s hand off and chided, "Do you have any idea what day this is? Why are you here causing trouble?"

"I’m not causing trouble. I’m here to see my brother and wait for the verdict, too." Tony Yates draped himself over his mother, shamelessly whining, "But we can’t just stand there doing nothing. You haven’t been home in almost a month. What’s wrong with me wanting to talk to you?"

The old lady put on a show of annoyance, but in her heart, she could never truly be estranged from her own son.

Everything she did was just to help Jeb hold on to his wife and children.

But with Jeb in there now, she, an old woman, had to rely on her second son. Even Jeb himself had said before he went in that he’d protected his brother for fear that she, his old mother, would have no one to look after her.

The old lady glanced over at Zelda Warner’s group. Seeing they weren’t looking their way, her expression softened, but she still reminded him, "Your sister-in-law just had a baby, so don’t keep provoking her. We have to think about your brother. We need to be good to her so she won’t divorce him."

"I know, Mom," Tony Yates said placatingly, then asked again, "So, did my sister-in-law have a boy or a girl?"

At the thought of little Phoebe, the old lady’s face broke into a smile. "A girl. Her name is Phoebe. Jeb apparently picked it out a long time ago."

Her son’s name is Alex.

Her daughter’s name is Phoebe.

They were both wonderful, hopeful names, and the old lady adored them.

"Is that right? That’s great. My brother has the perfect pair now—a son and a daughter."

"Exactly." The old lady was bursting with pride.

Tony Yates’s eyes darted around, and he suddenly lowered his voice. "Mom, about that thing I mentioned before... now that you’ve sort of infiltrated the enemy camp, have you heard anything?"

"Tsk!" The old lady glared at him. "What ’enemy camp’? Is your sister-in-law the enemy? Don’t be ridiculous! Besides, I’m there to help her recover from childbirth. What kind of news would I be able to dig up?"

The truth was, she had initially listened to her younger son and gone to the hospital to try and get information out of Zelda Warner, but she hadn’t succeeded.

Then, Cecilia Sterling had gotten into her head, and she’d immediately switched over to Zelda Warner’s side.

That was just her personality. She was impressionable and believed whatever she was told. Lacking a mind of her own, she was easily influenced by the opinions of others.

Of course, Tony Yates understood his own mother far better than Cecilia Sterling did.

He looked at his mother with a serious expression. "Mom, you need to get a grip. Of course helping my sister-in-law recover is the right thing to do, but what I asked of you is important, too. Haven’t you been worried this whole time that she’ll divorce my brother and take the kids and the money?"

"My brother has so much money. You’ve got to find a way to get it into our hands. We can’t rest easy with it in an outsider’s hands; it’s just not safe."

The old lady’s eyes shifted, conflicted. She muttered, "Your sister-in-law isn’t planning to divorce your brother. She promised me herself."

"Promises are bullshit!" Tony Yates scoffed. "I could promise to become the Lorcain Mayor next year—does that make it true? You can never know what’s in someone’s heart. At the end of the day, my sister-in-law isn’t one of us. With my brother in there, do you really think she’d let you know what she’s truly thinking?"

"And even if—*even if* she isn’t thinking about divorce right now, what about later?" Tony Yates’s tone turned menacing as he tried to intimidate his mother. "Can you predict the future? The only way to prevent disaster, the only way to have any peace of mind, is to get all that stuff into our own hands. Don’t you agree?"

The old lady’s mind couldn’t keep up. Suddenly, what her son was saying started to sound very reasonable.

Seeing from her expression that his words were having an effect, Tony Yates decided to strike while the iron was hot. "My brother saved my skin, so I have to look out for him. I’m thinking about this stuff all day, every day. I can’t even sleep soundly. If we can’t get his fortune back, I’m going to worry myself bald!"

The old lady doted on both of her sons, so when she heard Tony Yates say this, her heart immediately softened.

But she truly didn’t know anything.

"But your sister-in-law said your brother didn’t tell her anything about his business," the old lady said, looking troubled.

Tony Yates didn’t believe a word of it. He scowled. "You just believe whatever she says? Mom, you’re way too naive."

"Then what am I supposed to do? If she won’t talk, what can I do?" the old lady asked, getting flustered.

"You have to get it out of her! And isn’t she supposed to be resting after childbirth? That means you’re running the house, right? Haven’t you searched the place? It’s not easy to hide that many important documents."

The old lady shook her head. ’She’d been so focused on being good to Zelda Warner lately; a thought like that hadn’t even crossed her mind.’

"Well, go back and search."

The old lady’s face was a mask of worry. "What if I can’t find them?"

"It’s impossible. You’ll find them. She’s definitely hidden them somewhere," Tony Yates said with dead seriousness. "Think about it, Mom. Isn’t it obvious she’s on guard against you? You’re my brother’s own mother. It’s perfectly natural for you to want to know about these things. Even if you asked her for them directly, she couldn’t refuse you!"

By this point, the old lady had been completely led astray by Tony Yates. As she mulled over her son’s words, they started to seem very reasonable, and she couldn’t help but nod eagerly. "Yes, you’re right."