Lana did not even spare them another glance.

She was truly exhausted from dealing with the Almond family.

After arriving outside, Jones looked toward Lana with a worried expression.

"Are you okay?"

His voice softened slightly before he continued, "Will you be able to go back on your own?"

Lana gave a faint nod.

Seeing this, Jones could only sigh helplessly.

"I still do not understand why you chose to help me."

He lowered his gaze briefly before chuckling bitterly.

"To be honest, when you first contacted me, I thought you were simply playing with me. I genuinely believed you would betray me at the most critical moment."

He paused for a second before looking at her seriously.

"Who would have thought that you would actually protect me from your so-called adoptive brother?"

Hearing those words, Lana merely smiled faintly.

Jones continued speaking sincerely.

"Even though I do not know your reason, I will definitely remember your help today."

His expression became solemn.

"If you ever need any help in the future, just let me know. I will use all of my connections to repay this favor."

Lana nodded softly before suddenly pausing as though she had remembered something.

"You are also interested in purchasing talismans, right?"

The moment she mentioned that, a flicker appeared in Jones’s eyes.

Who in the country did not know about the recently famous talisman shop?

The shop had already caused massive waves everywhere because its talismans were both effective and surprisingly affordable.

Many cultivators were desperately trying to establish connections with its mysterious representative.

And now, Lana herself was offering him an olive branch. Sure enough, Lana calmly continued,

"I can give them to you for eighty thousand dollars. That is twenty thousand less than the usual price." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

June immediately shook his head. "There is no need for that."

His voice became firm.

"You have already helped me enough today. I cannot shamelessly continue asking for more favors."

Hearing those words, Lana pressed her lips together awkwardly.

’The truly shameless person here is actually me.’

After all, in her previous life, she had indirectly caused his death. That hidden guilt still lingered heavily inside her heart.

Because of that, she interrupted firmly, "Just take it."

Her voice softened slightly afterward.

"Just take it as a return gift for protecting me."

June stared at her silently for a moment before finally nodding helplessly.

Seeing this, Lana finally smiled softly.

Meanwhile, not far away, the Almond family was still causing a commotion.

Leonardo forcefully dragged Billy and Alice away from the area while both of them continued struggling angrily.

"You do not understand our grand plans!"

Alice shouted unwillingly. However, Leonardo immediately roared back at them.

"And do you understand how embarrassing you both were just now?!"

His chest rose violently from anger while veins bulged faintly across his forehead.

"My colleagues will definitely mock me tomorrow."

His voice trembled with humiliation.

"Did both of you forget how the Almond family abandoned Lana before? And now you are suddenly begging her in front of everyone. Do you even understand what kind of reputation our family will have tomorrow?!"

Hearing those words, Billy suddenly let out a cold chuckle. "Reputation?"

He looked at Leonardo as though he were being naive. "Does reputation even matter anymore?"

His voice carried exhaustion and bitterness.

"Do you know how difficult it is for our company to survive right now?"

The cold reality instantly silenced Leonardo.

Billy rubbed his forehead tiredly before continuing,

"Although some investments helped us temporarily, the Almond family is still drowning in debt."

The moment those words were spoken aloud, Leonardo unconsciously clenched his fists tightly.

The truth was cruel.

All three brothers were extremely talented in their respective fields, yet none of them had enough freedom to truly escape the family’s financial burden.

The reason was because of the so-called contract.

Years ago, after Billy and Alice made several disastrous business mistakes, they accumulated massive debt.

However, despite everything, they still insisted on maintaining a luxurious lifestyle for their children.

Later, they forced all of their children to sign contracts stating that once they reached the age of twenty-three, they would hand over seventy percent of their future income to the family till the debt was paid.

In truth, they originally wanted Lana to sign the contract as well.

However, Lana had refused from the very beginning.

Back then, she wanted money herself and, hence, proposed to earn it.

So all the money she had earned from her child appearance ended up in Mr. and Mrs. Almond’s pocket.

Because they were afraid of damaging the trust of their precious "cash cow," Billy and Alice chose not to pressure her into signing immediately.

Now, they regretted that decision so deeply that it almost drove them insane.

If only Lana had signed that contract back then, they would now be receiving over ten million dollars passively every single month.

The mere thought caused endless regret to spread wildly through their hearts.

Meanwhile, Leonardo looked at his parents with increasing disgust.

For the first time, he suddenly understood how suffocating and miserable Lana must have felt all those years while facing this family.

Taking a deep breath, he looked coldly toward Billy and Alice.

"Anyway, do not come near my workplace ever again."

Without waiting for a response, he immediately turned around and left.

Billy and Alice stood there silently. For once, neither of them argued back.

Because deep inside, they understood that if not for their own greed and selfishness, they would never have forced their adopted daughter to completely lose faith in them.

Nor would they have humiliated their own son in front of his colleagues today.

Billy sighed quietly and muttered,

"We should never have agreed with Thessy’s plan in the first place."

Alice, beside him, nodded slowly.

"Compared to Thessy, it is always more beneficial to establish connections with mystical cultivators."

Billy murmured,

"Mystic cultivators may appear ordinary on the surface, but many of them possess terrifying influence and connections far beyond average rich families."

Their discussions only made Billy and Alice feel even more regretful.