Hearing Gwen accurately guess the value, Lana became even more satisfied.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"It’s fine," Lana replied softly. "This is a gift. Just keep it."

Gwen instantly felt even more overwhelmed.

After that, Lana turned toward James.

"I need to talk to you," she stated calmly. "Come with me."

James immediately nodded obediently and followed her away.

This time, Gwen could not help feeling slightly lost while watching their backs disappear into a distant corner.

However, she was not resentful at all.

Instead, she felt ashamed.

Deeply ashamed. Once upon a time, she had hated Lana.

She had misunderstood this woman who was elegant, generous, and genuinely kind toward her despite everything.

The realization made her ears burn with embarrassment.

At the same time, however, her admiration for Lana only deepened further.

Meanwhile, in the quieter corner of the hallway, James looked at Lana with a puzzled expression.

Then suddenly, Lana narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"I’ve seen dumb people before," she remarked flatly, "but I’ve never seen anyone as dumb as you."

James blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean, Sister Lana?"

Lana crossed her arms before bringing up Gwen’s debt situation once again.

"If things were already this serious," she questioned coldly, "then why didn’t you help Gwen by selling the talismans I had given you?"

In truth, Lana genuinely wanted the two of them together.

Their children would definitely possess exceptional talent.

More importantly, both James and Gwen desperately needed emotional anchors tying them to this world.

Without those connections, people like them could easily lose themselves.

Meanwhile, James scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I already sold them," he admitted quietly.

Hearing those words, Lana froze.

Then suddenly, realization struck her.

Earlier, he had told her that all the teleportation talismans were gone and could no longer be used.

At that time, Lana never bothered asking where they had disappeared to.

But now she finally understood.

Her brows furrowed tightly.

"If all those talismans were sold," Lana muttered, "then you should’ve earned at least one hundred million dollars. Honestly, it could’ve even reached one billion dollars depending on the buyers."

She stared sharply at him.

"So where did all the money go?"

James instantly looked flustered.

"The truth is..." he mumbled awkwardly, "I didn’t know their real value."

Lana sighed deeply.

After hearing the full explanation, she finally understood everything.

James had indeed sold the teleportation talismans.

However, he sold many of them at discounted prices to his teammates so they could survive dangerous situations.

At the same time, he earned some money from wealthy buyers too.

The problem was... he charged everyone almost equally.

In James’ mind, fifty thousand dollars already felt like an absurdly high amount.

Thus, he believed his pricing was fair.

Lana immediately glared at him.

"At the very least, you should’ve charged rich people double," she snapped. "Do you even understand how valuable those talismans are on the market?"

James only gave a sheepish smile.

Seeing that innocent expression, Lana rolled her eyes helplessly.

"Forget it," she muttered. "Then why didn’t Gwen’s debt decrease afterward?"

At that question, James became visibly uncomfortable.

Slowly, he revealed the entire truth.

The more Lana listened, the colder her expression became.

Gwen’s family was truly disgusting.

Greedy beyond reason.

Initially, they demanded one billion dollars from Gwen. When she obviously failed to produce such an impossible amount, they directly forced her into marriage with an old man.

At the most critical moment, James stepped forward.

He gave Gwen the five hundred million dollars he earned from selling Lana’s talismans.

At that time, Gwen tearfully promised she would repay him someday.

But even after paying those five hundred million dollars, there was still another five hundred million remaining.

And because of that, the family forced Gwen into another repayment contract.

Not until the age of twenty.

Not until forty.

But until she turned eighty years old.

This was the first time Lana heard about this detail.

Immediately, only one thought surfaced inside her mind.

’If greedy people like this aren’t put in their place properly, they’ll continue demanding more forever.’

Taking a slow breath, Lana finally looked toward James calmly.

"All right," she stated softly. "I understand now."

James looked at her nervously.

Then Lana continued,

"From now on, stop giving Gwen’s family even a single cent."

James’ eyes widened.

"I’ll handle everything else myself."

The moment those words fell, James looked at Lana with sparkling eyes full of gratitude and admiration.

Without warning, he rushed toward her excitedly like a child.

"Thank you, Sister Lana!" he exclaimed happily. "You’re really too good to me!"

Lana chuckled helplessly before lightly patting his shoulder.

"It’s nothing."

Soon, both of them returned together.

The moment Gwen saw them approaching, she immediately stood up anxiously.

Her fingers subconsciously tightened around the jade pendant still resting in her palm.

"Have you two discussed everything already?" she asked carefully.

When both Lana and James nodded, Gwen immediately grabbed Lana’s hand with visible excitement and relief.

The gloomy atmosphere from earlier gradually faded as Gwen continued chattering nonstop beside Lana.

Seeing this, James could not help smiling quietly from the side.

After some time, Lana finally boarded the train alongside them.

Once Lana sat down, Gwen leaned slightly closer toward James and whispered softly,

"What did Sister Lana talk to you about earlier?"

James instinctively paused for a second.

However, he simply smiled gently and shook his head.

"It’s nothing," he replied calmly. "You don’t need to worry about it."

But Gwen immediately narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I know it was about me," she muttered softly. "Otherwise, Sister Lana would’ve talked in front of me directly."

James froze slightly.

Looking at Gwen’s expression, he suddenly realized there was no point hiding the truth anymore.

Thus, he slowly told her everything.

The more Gwen listened, the redder her eyes became.

By the time James finished speaking, tears had already filled her eyes completely.

Her eyelashes trembled violently while her shoulders shook faintly as she desperately tried holding back her emotions.