Chapter 327: A Daughter-In-Law Worth Bragging About

At the old Dalton mansion, Henry was fuming when he learned that Kristoff had transferred the five percent stake he had won from John Ascott to Isobel Lancey.

"Look at the son you raised!" he grumbled at Mary, who was comfortably sipping tea while watching a late-afternoon show on her tablet.

Mary didn’t even bother looking up.

"He’s the son you raised, too."

"I am serious, Mary!" Henry snapped. "Five percent of the company! That’s a fortune. How could he simply hand it over to that woman?"

Mary took another leisurely sip of tea before answering.

"Perhaps he considers it a betrothal gift to the mother of his son?"

Henry slowly rose from the couch and stared at his wife in disbelief.

"Why do you sound as though you approve of her now? Weren’t you the one who opposed that woman from the beginning? You even suspected she had some questionable relationship with Carlos Moran!"

"That was before," Mary replied matter-of-factly.

"Before? What changed?"

"Well, our suspicion about Carlos Moran was just that—suspicion. We had no proof." She set down her teacup and finally turned to face him. "Besides, our son isn’t stupid. Kristoff is perfectly capable of investigating someone before allowing her to carry his child. I’m sure he knew exactly who Isobel was."

Henry stared at her, then let out a long sigh.

"You used to be such a decisive woman. What happened to you? You’ve become so fickle-minded. And this ’before’ you’re talking about was barely three days ago!"

Mary raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed by his complaint.

"Have you not seen what’s trending online?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything!" Mary exclaimed, picking up her tablet. "Just look at this!"

She turned the screen toward Henry, her face lighting up.

"Another article about Isobel. And look at the comments! They’re practically calling her a genius."

Henry barely glanced at the screen.

Mary, however, was thoroughly enjoying herself.

"My friends haven’t stopped messaging me since this morning. Look!" She scrolled through the group chat, grinning. "They’re congratulating me one after another. Someone even said I must be the luckiest mother-in-law in the capital."

She leaned back with a satisfied smile.

"Well, I certainly won’t argue with that."

A satisfied smile spread across her face.

"Now I understand why Alexander is such an intelligent little boy. He inherited his father’s good genes, of course, but he also has an exceptionally intelligent mother."

"Who wouldn’t want a daughter-in-law like that?"

Henry nearly choked on his irritation.

"So, let me get this straight. You now accept Isobel as your daughter-in-law?"

Mary looked at him as though the answer should have been obvious.

"Why wouldn’t I? She’s a Foster, after all. She’s wealthy in her own right, so she certainly won’t be after our son’s money. And judging by what she’s accomplished, she’s not someone who needs to depend on Kristoff to make a name for herself."

She paused, then added with unmistakable pride, "Besides, she’s the mother of my grandson. What more could I ask for?"

Henry snorted.

"Hah! You women really are fickle-minded."

He walked across the room and stopped before the floor-to-ceiling window, with a view of the manicured garden stretched beneath the fading afternoon sunlight.

"But I still don’t approve of Kristoff giving her that five percent stake. Three percent would have been more than enough."

Mary’s eyebrows shot up.

"Why not give me the other two percent? After all, I was the one who lost it to John Ascott back then." Henry continued to grumble.

Mary gave a knowing chuckle.

"Ah, now I understand. It’s not that you’re upset about Kristoff giving the shares to Isobel. You’re still bitter about losing those two percent to John Ascott, aren’t you?"

Henry turned and glared at her.

For a moment, he looked as though he wanted to argue. But the words refused to come.

Because, unfortunately, his wife had hit the nail on the head.

Mary looked at her husband, thoroughly amused by his expression.

"Don’t give me that look. If you want to win back those shares, perhaps you should challenge John Ascott yourself next time. Just be sure to win."

Henry scoffed.

"That old fox? I’d rather not bet than give him the satisfaction of winning against me again. Besides, he was still in the hospital now. His blood pressure must have shoot up for him to suffer a mild stroke."

Mary laughed softly before returning her attention to her tablet.

A few seconds later, she suddenly spoke.

"By the way, I think we should invite Isobel to visit Alexander and let’s have dinner at Kristoff’s place this weekend."

Henry turned around.

"Why?"

Mary looked at him as though he had asked the most ridiculous question.

"Have you not seen how many CEOs and billionaires in the capital are interested in her?"

Henry frowned.

"So?"

"What if someone else snatched her away?" Mary replied, lowering her teacup. "She’s practically our future daughter-in-law. We should be helping Kristoff secure his position, not sitting around doing nothing."

Henry stared at her.

"You mean, secure his position? Are you talking about a business acquisition or a marriage?"

Mary shot him an annoyed look.

"Don’t be ridiculous. I’m talking about creating more opportunities for them to spend time together, so Kristoff can marry her soonest."

"And Alexander is the perfect excuse. Who wouldn’t want to spend time with their own son?"

Henry shook his head in disbelief.

"Since when did you become so enthusiastic about having her around?"

Mary gave him a sidelong glance.

"Since I realized that having a capable and intelligent daughter-in-law is something worth celebrating."

She scrolled through her tablet, stopping at another article featuring Isobel’s recent accomplishment.

"Look at this. Even people from the business community are praising her. I heard several prominent families have already expressed interest in meeting her."

Henry frowned.

"Don’t tell me you’re planning to show her off to your friends."

"Why not?" Mary replied without hesitation. "They’ve been asking about her all day. I might as well give them the opportunity to meet her properly."

Henry shook his head.

He suddenly wondered whether his wife had become Isobel’s biggest supporter overnight.

But Mary was already thinking about something else.

If Isobel was going to be part of the Dalton family, then she deserved to be treated as such. There was no point in holding on to old prejudices, especially when their own son had already made his choice.

Besides, she had a feeling that Isobel was not someone who would remain in the background for long. And if her latest achievement was any indication, the young woman might soon surprise the entire business world.

Mary smiled to herself.

Perhaps it was time the Dalton family stopped treating Isobel as someone underserving of Kristoff.

After all, she was Alexander’s biological mother.