YOKED TO A BILLIONAIRE BY VENNEH LISAH

𝐘𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓:

"Is it gone?" Douglas rushed out to check.

"It's gone, Mr. Douglas," reported Clyde.

"Mr. Old Roman is furious, so you better lay low," suggested Douglas before he turned to enter the house.

"Well, I'm done for." Cruze knew that although D'barl had not explicitly mentioned it, Douglas could still tell. His subordinates had failed to prevent the eagle from flying in because Cruze had blocked them on multiple times.

Thus, D'barl was definitely going to unleash his wrath on Cruze.

"You'll just have to bear a bit of caning," comforted Clyde as he patted his shoulder. "Mr. Old Roman is old enough to not have the strength to draw blood."

"Take the children to the room," Davon said as he made a gesture.

The head maid and a few maids rushed to take the three kids to the room.

Eliana was not crying anymore. Rather, her entire body was ice cold, and her face was devoid of color.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here. Everything is going to be fine." Davon hugged her and gently soothed her. "Be a good girl and go rest in your room. I'll join you soon."

"Okay." Eliana's small face was still streaked with tears, but she nodded bravely.

Davon shook his head and then looked at Ryan . His heart ached as he uttered, "Are you okay?"

Ryan seemed out of sorts as he shook his head silently.

"That eagle was so scary," whimpered Jason who was clutching a shivering Finny. "We were already scared when we heard noises in the car. I can't believe it flew into the house today."

Eliana whimpered, and she was on the verge of tears again.

"Don't be scared, Eliana. I won't talk about it." Jason hurriedly comforted her.

"Daddy, who does the eagle belong to?" Ryan asked with a frown.

"I'll explain it to you later. Go to your room for now." Davon said as he stroked Ryan's head.

D'barl shot the head maid a look. The head maid took several maids with her as they coaxed the three children upstairs.

"When will Immaculate arrive?" D'barl asked Douglas.

"I called her, and she said that she's bringing the children psychologist with her. They should be here soon," replied Douglas respectfully.

"Fine." D'barl nodded and turned his attention to Cruze. At once, he called out angrily, "Kneel!"

Cruze was petrified, and he hastily dropped to his knees. Following that, Marco and the eight bodyguards knelt in two neat rows.

"You too," barked D'barl as he glared at Clyde.

"Me?" Clyde was completely taken aback. "Mr. Old Roman, I didn't…" Before he could finish speaking, he saw Douglas shaking his head and shooting him a look.

He immediately snapped his jaw shut and fell to his knees as well with a clean thud.Likewise, his eight subordinates followed suit.

D'barl's sharp gaze scanned the group. After a while, he turned to stare at Davon and said, "Tell me the truth now. What's going on?"

Davon frowned, and he lowered his gaze. He was trying hard to keep his emotions in check.

He hid the matter to avoid a confrontation with the Landiana family. He did not want D'barl to know Violla's identity.

However, Violla had charged into the house and caused such a commotion. Hence, D'barl could no longer ignore the matter.

D'barl had been in the business industry for some time and had learned to read people well. When he first saw that silver Rolls-Royce, he had suspected that they were from Landiana Corporation. Later, he had sent someone to look into the matter, but Davon had hidden everything.

He had long suspected that there was more to the story than what met the eye.

After Violla's incident, D'barl had stopped micro-managing Davon. He kept one eye closed on most matters. However, he did not expect that the Landiana Corporation would use the opportunity to provoke them.

Besides, Davon's people did not handle the situation promptly, and instead, they allowed it to become a mess. There must be something wrong.

Although D'barl guessed that something was wrong, he would never expect that the person living in North Villa was Violla.

'Perhaps he'll find out eventually, but I can only hide it for as long as I can.'

"I have my plans. It's not the right time to have a conflict with the Landiana family," replied Davon.

"They're completely taking advantage of you! What do you mean by the right time?" D'barl was quaking with anger at that moment. "If it wasn't for luck, Ryan and Eliana would be hurt."

"You're right. They went too far this time. I can't ignore this anymore," said Davon as he nodded.

It was out of character for Davon to patiently explain as he did. He was not his usual argumentative and arrogant self.

Nonetheless, D'barl was no longer as sharp as he used to be. He turned to glare at Cruze and said, "You, continue kneeling outside. Make sure you keep watch so those disgusting things don't come flying back in. If even one feather makes it in, I'll chop off your hand!"

"Yes, sir!" Cruze's reply was forceful but bright. It indicated his resignation to receive his punishment bravely.

"Get out!" D'barl bellowed.

Cruze immediately led the rest of the men out. They dashed out the metal door and kneeled in neat rows.

Meanwhile, Douglas went to check and reported their actions to D'barl. "They've assumed the kneeling positions and are currently as straight as arrows!"

D'barl's enraged gaze fell on Clyde. "From now on, if I find out that you're keeping any secrets from me, you'll be immediately kicked out of the Roman family!"

Clyde shuddered and shot a fearful look at Davon. 'My punishment is so much worse that Cruze's.'

Davon silently looked away.

"Don't look at him," said D'barl to Clyde as he coldly shot daggers at Davon.

Clyde looked pleadingly at Douglas, and the latter nodded slightly.

Then, Cruze dipped his head and said, "You're right, Mr. Old Roman. I understand!"

"Get out," sneered D'barl.

Clyde immediately backed away with his men. Although he had not been punished, the threat was far more terrifying.

From that day onward, he knew his life was going to become even more challenging.

"Come with me to the study room." D'barl gestured for Douglas to push him into the study room, with Davon following behind.

When the study room door closed, D'barl fixed his baleful eyes on Davon.

"If you have something to say, just spit it out. Why are you staring at me?" Davon's brows were deeply furrowed.

"Are you being lenient with the Landiana family because they're that woman's family?" D'barl asked his grandson in a low voice.

Davon froze. 'Wow. I was racking my brain for a passable excuse, but grandpa delivered one right to me.'

"I am right." D'barl sighed heavily. "Although she's a member of the Landiana family, she was never recognized as one of them. She doesn't have any emotional attachment towards them, so you don't need to make allowances for them."

Davon kept his head low and his lips sealed.

'It's better to say less now since silence is gold. Grandpa will come up with a reason on his own if I just stay silent.'

"You have to remember that the Landiana family is our archenemy!" D'barl reminded him earnestly. "You can't allow your feelings to cloud your mind. Business is business, and if you make allowances for them, you'll be treated as easy prey. Every life tied to the Roman Group is your responsibility. You're in charge of the rise and fall of the company and the future of those three children!"

Davon had heard those words repeatedly over the years. He had memorized them by now.

'Any idiot would be able to recite the entire spiel by heart now.'

"That woman is gone. You should let her go and start a new chapter of your life." This was the first time in two years that D'barl had brought up the topic.

In the past two years, they had avoided the topic in order to preserve their relationship.

Although it had hit a nerve for Davon, he still could not find it in himself to blame D'barl.

'What am I supposed to do? It's not like I can kill grandpa…I can only exact my revenge through aloofness.'

"I know you resent me." D'barl let out a deep sigh. "However, hating me won't change anything. You can't bring her back. You can only pour all your emotions onto the three children, but don't waste any of it on the Landiana family."

"I know! I know what to do." Davon finally blurted out.

"Are you sure?" D'barl was obviously not convinced.

Davon silently frowned at him. He seemed to be in silent protest.

"Okay." D'barl sighed helplessly. "You better know what to do. Otherwise, I'll squeeze the life out of the Landiana family if it's the last thing I'll do!" D'barl warned threateningly.

After pausing for a moment, he turned to glare sharply at Davon. "You know that it's not in my nature to show mercy."

"I know."

'Of course, I'm aware. Grandpa started fighting with the Landiana family during his era of power. '

'There's no way he'll be letting his guard down when it comes to me. He forbids me from making a connection with any of them.'

'I bet he never expected himself to fail after all the precautions he took.'

When Davon met her , she did not seem affiliated with the Landiana family at all. Little did he know she was estranged from the family. Eventually, she even gave birth to three of his children. This must be what they mean by being trapped by fate.

"Leave," ordered D'barl sternly.

Davon had intended on persuading D'barl to return to North Nation. However, the words seemed to be stuck in his throat.

He knew D'barl's temperament, and there was no way he would be willing to return after that days incident. His three great-grandchildren were all shaken to the core, after all.

'I better give it some time.'

Davon walked out of the study room to see Immaculate charging in with the doctors. She bowed quickly to Davon before rushing upstairs to attend to the three children.

D'barl was worried that the children would be traumatized by the incident. Hence, he told Douglas to tell Immaculate to come over.

Davon then ascended the stairs and watched the children from the entrance of the study room.

Once Immaculate and the child psychologists assessed the children's mental well-being, they instructed the children to describe the experience like they were telling a story.

Jason and Eliana described the experience like they were talking about the plot of a cartoon they had watched. That method alleviated some of their fear as they vividly brought the incident to life.

Soon, the study room was filled with their laughter.

Hearing that, Davon smiled and turned to leave.

'The Romans don't get scared so easily.' he told himself.

"Are you leaving, Mr. Roman?" Cruze hastily followed Davon. Since he had been punished to kneel , he had to stick close to Davon.

"Lewis is waiting for me." Davon glanced at his watch. "Let's head to the Roman Hotel first."

"Yes, sir."

In the study room on the second floor, Ryan was standing next to the window. With a troubled expression, he watched Davon's car drive further away.

"What's wrong, Ryan?" Immaculate had noticed that Jason and Eliana had recovered quickly, while Ryan seemed distracted. It was like he had put up walls to keep the children psychologist away.

"Nothing." Ryan turned and walked out.

"Ryan, where are you going?" Jason asked.

"Back to my room."

When Ryan returned to his room, he took out a new mechanical dove and set it free outside his window. He maneuvered it to the north villa because he wanted to find out the identity of the person who had come to start trouble.

'Why did the eagle have mommy's ring on its leg?'

No one else noticed that there was a rhodium ring around the eagle's leg. That ring was Violla and Davon's engagement ring.

Perhaps no one else noticed that when the eagle swooped towards Ryan, a whistle could be heard. Right after, the eagle stopped and hovered in front of him. He was posed at just the right angle to notice the ring.

At that moment, Ryan had felt a mixture of terror and astonishment.

After the incident, everyone was busy trying to handle the aftermath. Yet Ryan was consumed with thoughts about the ring.

He was not stricken by fear nor traumatized. He was just thinking about how his mother's ring ended up on the eagle.

'What's going on? That eagle belongs to the owner of North Villa. 'If I find out who he is, I'll be able to follow the trail to mommy.'

Thus, Ryan released a mechanical dove and sent it to spy on the owner of North Villa.

At that moment, the mechanical dove flew higher and further.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Immaculate's gentle voice drifted in, "Are you there, Ryan?"

Ryan knew it would take some time for the dove to reach its destination. Thus, he went to open the door. "What's up, Dr. Immaculate?"

"Can we chat, Ryan?" Immaculate squatted and gazed at him kindly. "I know you must have been frightened just now. You're just trying to put on a brave front…"

"I think you've misunderstood," said Ryan as he interrupted Immaculate. His tone was level and calm. "I was a bit scared , but I'm fine now. I'm just busy with my own stuff. I'm not trying to avoid anything, so you don't need to be worried."

Immaculate smiled awkwardly. "I'm glad you're fine."

"Thank you!" Ryan politely replied. "Is there anything else?"

"No." Immaculate hurriedly shook her head. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

"Thank you for taking care of Jason and Eliana!" Ryan bowed courteously and closed the door.

Immaculate felt rather vexed, but she had no choice but to return to Jason and Eliana

After that, Ryan walked up to the computer and continued tracking the mechanical dove. It was flying towards North Villa.

The camera on the mechanical dove recorded everything below it clearly and sent the footage to Ryan.

Ryan stared at the computer screen as he waited for the mechanical dove to reveal the answer he was searching for.

Someone knocked on his door again.

Ryan frowned in annoyance. "Who is it?"

"Ryan, I asked the kitchen staff to prepare some breakfast. Let's go eat together," said D'barl gently.

Jason and Eliana's voices followed.

"Did they really make hot cross bunnies, great-grandpa?" Jason asked excitedly.

"They did. I tasked the head maid to learn how to make them. Go eat them now and tell me how they taste," replied D'barl with a grin.

"Yay, that's great," cheered Jason as he ran downstairs.

"Where's Ryan ?" asked Eliana.

"I'm calling him out now." D'barl lovingly patted her head. "Go on. We'll join you soon."

"Okay, I'll go look for Finny." Eliana skipped downstairs.

In the room, Ryan stared unblinkingly at the screen. The pigeon was nearing North Villa. He did not want to miss seeing the truth, but they were waiting for him outside. Thus, he had no choice but to open the door.

"Ryan…"

"Great-grandpa, I'm not hungry yet. You guys can start without me."

Ryan turned back to the computer. At that moment, his heart was pounding at a breakneck pace. If he was delayed any longer, he would miss his opportunity.

"Ryan , I want to talk to you…"

"I don't want to talk now," blurted Ryan.

D'barl froze, and his gaze darkened.

Ryan realized how rude he was acting and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm just… really busy. Please start breakfast without me."