Chapter 200: Seeing the Light of Day Again
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It took Bruce a long time to react, and there was some light in his cloudy eyes.
The past few days, they had been locked up in this heavily guarded death row prison after the military arrested them, and no one was allowed to come and visit them.
All the Hales, including Bruce, felt that they would die here in silence without anyone finding out. They were full of fear and despair, but to Bruce’s surprise, someone was here to see him.
Bruce propped himself up and slowly climbed up from the ground. Then he followed the prison guard to the reception room outside with anxiety.
When he saw the handsome young man sitting at the table, he was so excited that he leaped toward him like he had found his lifeline. “Mr. Gray! Mr. Gray, I know we made a mistake before. The Hales failed to realize how formidable you are and ended up offending you! I’ll kowtow and apologize to you, so please give us a chance and let us off!”
Then he really knelt directly on the ground and kowtowed to Lucas.
Lucas frowned, avoided it, and said indifferently, “I came here today with the intention of giving you a chance. But whether you can grasp this chance or not is all up to you.”
Bruce hurriedly said, “Okay, okay! Mr. Gray, please feel free to tell me what it is. As long as you can forgive us and set us free from this prison, I’m willing to do anything!”
Bruce meant every word. During the past few days, he and his family had been living in immense agony, as they had been bullied, humiliated, and saw no hope in getting out alive. In fact, they didn’t even know when they would suddenly receive the news that they would be executed.
Such a life was simply too dismal and terrifying, and they didn’t want to stay here a second longer!
Lucas smiled indifferently. “You’re aware that you and your grandson have both offended me, so you can’t be forgiven easily. Now, I’ll give you two options. One, I’ll let you off, but the rest of your family will die. Two, you die here yourself, but I’ll pardon the other Hales and get them out of here.
“Make your choice.”
Bruce’s eyes were overflowing with dismay, and his lips twitched twice, seemingly wanting to plead with Lucas again. But he knew that Lucas wouldn’t change his mind.
He closed his eyes in despair and soon opened them again. He looked at Lucas and asked, “If I choose the second option, will you really let the rest of the Hale family off and set them free without pursuing the matter any longer?”
Lucas nodded. “Of course. I’ve always been a man of my word.”
“Okay, I’ll go with the second option then. I hope you will honor your promise. I’ll atone for my sins using my life!” Bruce said firmly.
Lucas chuckled. “I couldn’t tell that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good.”
Bruce didn’t know if Lucas was mocking him or not, but he said with a bitter smile, “I’ve already lived for more than seventy years, and I’ve seen everything and lived long enough. If I can use my life in exchange for the safety of my descendants, it will definitely be worth it. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to choose, Mr. Gray.”
Lucas raised his eyebrows. “I caused your entire family to be locked up here. Don’t you hate me?”
After a long silence, Bruce answered, “Honestly, I resented you in the beginning. But after the past few days of pondering, I’ve understood everything. It was clearly the Hales’ fault for offending you first. We provoked you, and I continued to make a mistake by failing to discipline my children and grandchildren. I even tried to suppress you with force. Indeed, we were at fault, and we have brought this upon ourselves!
“You’ve also spared my one-month-old great-grandson and given me a chance to choose. What right do I have to hate you?”
When people were on the brink of death, they tended to say pleasant things. Since Bruce had already chosen to die, everything he said was sincere and from the bottom of his heart.
After a moment of silence, Lucas suddenly smiled.
He stood up and looked down. “I’m very satisfied with your answer. In that case, I don’t mind giving the Hales another chance.”
He nodded at the prison guards by his side and ordered, “Release all the Hales.”
Bruce’s jaw dropped in shock. When all the Hales returned to the family villa and he saw his little great-grandson, he finally snapped back to reality.
Lucas actually held such great power that he could release the Hales from prison. In fact, he even benevolently spared Bruce, who thought that he would die after choosing the second option.
All the Hales cried tears of joy while hugging their family members and bawling out loud.
In just a few days, they had experienced lots of ups and downs. They thought they were going to die in prison, where they couldn’t see the light of day. But there was a sudden twist of fate, and they were allowed to return to the luxurious Hale villa.
After hugging his wife and son in exhilaration, Connor gradually calmed down and said through clenched teeth, “Lucas Gray is to blame for everything that happened to us! Grandpa, we can’t let him off!”
“Shut up!” Bruce bellowed and raised his hand to give Connor a tight slap on his face. “Sinner! All this trouble was caused by you and your incompetent brother! Yet you still don’t know how to reflect on yourself!
“All of you, listen up. The only reason we were able to get out of there is that Mr. Gray is generous enough to let us off the hook! All of you are to remember this kindness! In the future, I will immediately disown anyone who dares to disrespect or offend Mr. Gray!”
Bruce’s voice was terribly stern. He had been the patriarch of the Hale family for years, and the prestige and authority he had acc.u.mulated over the years was extraordinary. He managed to calm everyone down immediately.
The others also found out at this point that they had managed to get out of that h.e.l.lhole all thanks to Lucas!
Be it Lucas’s incredible combat skills he displayed at the banquet the other day or the relations.h.i.+p between him and the military, all of it made the Hales extremely terrified and cautious.
At the thought of everything that had happened the past few days, Connor hurriedly said with lingering fear, “Grandpa, I was muddled! I’ll definitely obey you and respect Mr. Gray! I won’t dare to offend him again!”
The rest of the Hales also promised that they would definitely not trifle with Lucas again.
“Also, all of you are to remember this lesson! From now on, no one is to act recklessly, bully others, and behave brazenly in the name of the Hales! If I find out, I’ll punish anyone found guilty! Do you hear me?”