Boom!

The next second, the furious parents slammed directly against the barrier yet failed to break through no matter how hard they tried.

Seeing the glowing defensive shield surrounding the group, Willow and Sophia immediately began pounding against it violently.

"If you have the guts, open this barrier!" Sophia screamed furiously. "I’ll show you what happens when children disrespect their elders!"

Before she could continue, Lana coldly interrupted her.

"Oh, I have far more audacity than you can imagine."

Her icy gaze swept across all four adults.

"I’m simply choosing not to use it."

Then her voice lowered dangerously.

"Do you honestly believe I can’t slap all four of you to death right this instant?"

The moment those terrifyingly calm words echoed through the lobby, all four parents instantly became pale.

Even the surrounding air seemed to grow colder.

Meanwhile, James and Gwen both instinctively wanted to step forward and argue back.

However, Lana calmly raised a hand to stop them.

Then she looked toward the parents coldly.

"I’ll give you two choices."

Her tone remained calm, yet the pressure radiating from her body made everyone nervous.

"First, we settle this like civilized people."

Her eyes landed directly on Sophia.

"You apologize to Gwen for hitting her."

Only then did Lana continue.

"Afterward, we can calmly discuss whatever problems you all have. Or... I will kill you all and report that it was done by a ghost."

Although Lana was trying to act civilly, everyone present could clearly feel that her patience was hanging by a very thin thread.

It genuinely seemed as though she might suddenly start beating them at any second.

Eventually, after several tense moments, everyone reluctantly moved toward the nearby sofas inside the hotel lobby.

Even then, Lana never removed the defensive barrier.

Instead, she sat there coldly while staring at all four adults.

"Now," she said calmly, "start with the apology."

The moment those words left her mouth, Sophia immediately exploded again.

"I would never apologize to her even if you killed me!"

The next second... a sharp beam of mystic energy shot directly toward her shoulder.

Sophia instantly screamed in pain as the attack struck her.

The surrounding parents immediately froze in terror.

Meanwhile, Lana calmly lowered her hand as though nothing had happened.

Seeing Sophia genuinely injured, the remaining adults finally became frightened.

One after another, they hurriedly began apologizing nervously.

Only after Sophia herself reluctantly apologized through clenched teeth did Lana finally smile faintly.

"See?" she said pleasantly. "That’s how humans communicate."

Then her gaze suddenly sharpened again.

"Now tell me."

Her cold eyes swept across all four of them.

"Why were all of you acting like rabid dogs and attacking us the moment we appeared?"

Hearing such insulting words, all four parents looked at Lana resentfully.

Yet after witnessing her terrifying strength earlier, none of them dared argue back.

Eventually, swallowing their anger, they finally began telling the truth.

At Lana’s question, Willow shot Lana a vicious glare.

Even so, she did not dare to go too far.

After swallowing hard, Willow forced herself to speak.

"We... we only just found out that Aurora and Jeremiah died."

The moment those words left her mouth, the expressions around the room shifted subtly.

Lana folded her arms and turned toward Willow and Sophie. It was obvious why they had come. The greed in their eyes was impossible to miss now.

"So you came here for compensation?" Lana sneered coldly. "Is that it?"

The two sets of parents stiffened instantly.

One of them hurriedly waved their hands, their movements panicked and unnatural.

"No, no, that isn’t what we meant. We were just... we were just feeling terrible about what happened."

Their voices trembled awkwardly as they tried to explain themselves, but their excuses sounded hollow.

"They died because of those people in the woods," Sophie muttered bitterly. "From our perspective, Gwen and James were partially responsible for Aurora and Jeremiah’s deaths."

The moment Sophie finished speaking, Lana suddenly chuckled.

That chuckle was sharp enough to make everyone uneasy.

She slowly lifted her finger and pointed directly at Sophie.

"Have you told everyone that you are two-timing?"

Sophie’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her face instantly turned pale before flushing bright red with fury.

"You can eat whatever you want," Sophie snapped furiously, "but you cannot say whatever you like! I will sue you!"

Lana laughed even harder.

"Sure," she mocked. "Just like how all of you are planning to sue innocent people after barging in here asking for compensation while spouting nonsense."

Silence crashed over the room.

Everyone’s expressions changed instantly, especially after realizing the true reason these people had come.

Until now, some had genuinely believed they were grieving parents drowning in sorrow.

Who would have thought that hidden beneath those grieving faces was greed?

Taking a deep breath, Gwen looked toward the two sets of parents before speaking bluntly.

"I don’t have money."

Her voice cracked slightly from exhaustion.

"Not a single penny. Everything goes to my parents. Every single cent is used to repay the debt I owe them."

Lana frowned immediately.

"When did it become that serious? Did you really borrow that much money?"

Gwen lowered her gaze.

After she was rescued by James, her parents had asked for money for raising her.

She had signed a repayment contract stating that she needed to pay one hundred thousand dollars every single month until the debt was fully cleared. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

And she had failed.

Again and again.

Some months she managed to send more than one hundred thousand dollars. Some months she skipped payments entirely because she simply could not survive otherwise. Yet the debt only continued piling higher and higher like a mountain crushing her chest.

So she truly was not lying.

She genuinely had nothing left.

On the other side, Lana suddenly laughed again before glancing toward everyone gathered there.

"Since all of you came here demanding compensation," she drawled lazily, "then maybe we should sue you too."

Lana crossed her legs elegantly and continued without mercy.

"After all, it was your children who refused to leave back then."

Gwen turned toward Lana with amusement sparkling in her eyes.