Love at First Novel by Gu Lingfei

"Dad, you should have gotten rid of them all from the start and built a network of people loyal only to you."

Timothy believed his father had made a mistake by keeping those people around.

Mr. Labbe shook his head. "There are too many of them. They're our relatives and friends. We share the same goal. We can't just eliminate them all at once."

He had rallied them to overthrow the head of the family, erasing the entire bloodline-men, women, children, even the elderly.

The reason? They were all from collateral branches, envious of the direct line that had always held power. With a shared ambition, his plan succeeded.

He had waited more than a decade for the right moment to strike. But even after wiping out the direct bloodline, he still couldn't claim the headship. The family seal, the sacred token, and the ancestral totem-without them, he was merely an acting head. Many loyalists still refused to obey him.

Even worse, he couldn't gain control over much of the Labbe family's wealth.

anticipated power-hungry figures like him and created rules to prevent them from seizing control. Even exterminating the direct lineage wouldn't make

It was maddening.

I'll head back

took priority over chasing his wife. He accepted his

stop by the jewelry store and pick up the set I ordered for your mother. It's

be in

The people backing him are incredibly powerful.

was intrigued. "Who could be so powerful that even we can't compare? Dad, when you

now, their power was limited because his father was only the acting head. The true elites and the most formidable bodyguards

concern-those artifacts had been hidden by the previous head. The only person who

the artifacts,

for years.