Chapter 587 - 583: If You Can’t Be Bothered to Deal With It, Then Don’t

Zelda Warner scoffed internally but showed no fear. She held her teacup with poise and said, "Of course. Once the banquet is over and the guests are gone, our family can sit down for a nice chat."

Seeing her acting so appropriately, the elders took the opportunity to praise her, sweetening her up first.

After they finished making their toasts and stepped aside, Zelda Warner said to Cecilia Sterling, "Don’t worry, I was already prepared for this. The old matriarch has been rummaging around the house for the past few days; I know all about it. Tony Yates is at his wit’s end. He’s probably planning to use the elders’ presence today to force me to hand it over."

"I’m not afraid. Besides, I don’t have it. Since I can’t produce it, there’s nothing they can do."

Cecilia Sterling frowned. "Still, we can’t let them ruin such a wonderful day. A single word to people like them is a waste of time."

A thought flickered in her mind, and Cecilia Sterling suddenly broke into a playful smile. "Just you watch. I have a way to handle this."

"What are you going to do?" Zelda Warner grabbed Cecilia’s arm, a little nervous. She tried to placate her, "It’s not worth getting angry over someone like Tony Yates."

"I know." Cecilia smiled reassuringly. "Don’t worry. I can’t be bothered with him."

With that, Cecilia turned and walked toward Duane’s table, leaving a confused Zelda Warner blinking after her.

"Cecilia!"

Seeing Cecilia approach, Duane and his whole group quickly stood up, glasses in hand. These were the guys who usually hung around her. Besides Duane, she was familiar enough with the others to at least recognize their faces and know their names.

Cecilia smiled and shared a drink with them before lowering her voice. "You’re not here for nothing today. I’ve got a job for you, with bonuses based on performance."

The group was stunned for a moment. A young man with a buzz cut immediately piped up, "Cecilia, if you need something done, just tell us. We don’t need a bonus."

The others heard him and nodded in agreement.

Cecilia laughed. "This time is different. Like I said, there are targets. If you do a good job, you deserve the bonus."

Duane had been with Cecilia the longest and had a good grasp of her personality. She was never stingy with the guys who worked for her. It wasn’t just about giving bonuses for a specific reason like today; even on a regular basis, she’d transfer him money to hand out to the crew so they wouldn’t be short on cash.

So, he took the lead and asked, "Cecilia, what’s the job?"

Cecilia tilted her head slightly and subtly jutted her chin toward the table of elders and close relatives. "That table is full of elders—all the great-uncles and third uncles are here today. In a bit, find an opportunity to go over and make some toasts. I need you to get every single person at that table drunk. Unconscious would be best. You guys are experts at handling things at the drinking table, so this shouldn’t be too hard, right?"

The whole group broke into grins.

"That’s it, Cecilia?"

"Leave it to us. We’ll get every single one. Don’t worry, no one from that table is leaving on their own two feet tonight."

"Don’t worry, Cecilia! We guarantee we’ll hit our target!"

These guys had all knocked around a bit; when it came to the simple matter of finding excuses to get people wasted, no one was better.

Seeing their confident expressions, Cecilia knew this was a done deal. She grinned and said, "We’ll count them one by one. For every person who goes down, you each get ’one’. If you take them all out, it’s a package deal—you each get ’twenty’!"

The guys’ eyes lit up at the offer, but they were still sensible enough to collectively shake their heads and refuse. "That’s way too much, Cecilia. You don’t have to give us that much."

There were eight of them at the table. ’Twenty’ each meant a total of one hundred and sixty.

Taking so much of Cecilia’s money for such a trivial task made them uneasy. They didn’t dare accept.

"Cecilia, we know you treat us well," Duane said. "There are eight of us. Just give us a total of ’twenty’ to split amongst ourselves. You really don’t need to be so generous."

Cecilia waved a dismissive hand and said firmly, "Don’t you start telling me what to do. I’ve already made the offer; there’s no taking it back. Besides, going from ’twenty’ each to ’twenty’ total? That’s too big of a drop!"

"You just focus on the task. How much I pay is my decision. Getting the job done is what you should be worried about."

Once Cecilia put it that way, Duane knew her mind was made up. He was touched, but could only offer a helpless smile. He clapped his hands, getting his buddies’ attention. "Cecilia’s given the order! Alright, guys, stop staring. Let’s move!"

At his word, the men all rose, grabbing glasses in one hand and bottles of liquor in the other, and descended upon the elders’ table like a chaotic swarm.

Cecilia watched from behind, a smile on her face as if she were settling in to watch a good show.

Zelda Warner finally sidled over, asking in confusion, "Cecilia, what are Duane and his friends up to?"

"You’ll see in a minute," Cecilia said cryptically.

Soon, the elders’ table became the rowdiest one at the banquet. Using a combination of flattery and trickery, Duane and his crew quickly warmed up to the elders. In less than an hour, you could see that a whole section of the table was visibly drunk.

Zelda Warner stared, dumbfounded. She finally understood what Cecilia’s "plan" was.

"Cecilia, you’re really something else!" Zelda Warner said, her voice filled with genuine admiration.

"If you can’t be bothered to deal with them, then don’t," Cecilia said smugly. "This way is the most efficient."

In any case, today was a special occasion. After tonight, Zelda and Phoebe would disappear from the public eye and go back to their own lives. If Tony Yates wanted to stir up trouble, he could do it on his own time, as long as he didn’t bring his nonsense to their doorstep.

By the time Tony Yates realized what was happening, it was too late. He tried to go over and intervene, but Duane and his crew were already on a roll. Their new rule was to force-feed drinks to anyone who approached. Two of them grabbed Tony Yates by the head and poured an entire pot of liquor down his throat.

Before long, he was also slumped over his chair, dead to the world.

He was still muttering deliriously as he passed out, "Can’t... drink anymore... I have... important business... Stop drinking, everyone..."

The old matriarch walked over and slapped him on the head in disgust. "Tsk. Look at him, dead drunk and still talking nonsense. Summer, hurry and find someone to carry Tony home. We can’t have him lying around when the party ends and no one’s left to look after him."

Summer Lynn had no idea what was going on. All she saw was her husband go over to that table, get two pots of liquor forced on him, and end up in this state. Hearing the matriarch’s order, she quickly nodded and went to find help.

Cecilia, meanwhile, pulled Zelda Warner over to chat at Mr. Young’s table, not sparing the chaotic scene another glance.

Cecilia didn’t get home until it was nearly midnight. She’d been in high spirits and had a bit more to drink than usual, but she wasn’t drunk—just pleasantly tipsy.

The lights were still on at home. Hearing a noise at the gate, Jasmine Sterling rushed out to greet her.

"You’re back? Did you drink too much?" Jasmine Sterling stepped forward to steady her daughter, her face etched with concern. "I made you some soup. Drink some in a little while. It’ll help you sober up and warm your stomach."

Cecilia was still perfectly clear-headed. She linked arms with her mother and asked, "Mom, why didn’t you go today?"

"I told Zelda that I’d cook a meal at home later so we can have our own little one-month celebration for Phoebe. Besides," she added, "Lily’s back, isn’t she? Since she wasn’t going, I decided to stay home and keep her company."