Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1448

Lillian's declaration hit the two brothers like a freight train.

Leave? Right now?

This... she was the indisputable main character of this entire gala!

Sebastian was banking on this event to perform well, use his son as a bridge, and win Lillian back.

The Mercers had the exact same desperate objective.

Eleanor leaving was perfectly fine, but Lillian absolutely could not leave! If she walked out, wouldn't all their meticulous planning go down the drain?

Brandon immediately grabbed Lillian's arm. "Lillian, of course you don't have to leave! It's just... how about we have Sebastian arrange for someone to take Mom to the backyard to play?"

Sebastian, noticing the commotion, hurried over to seize the opportunity. "There's a massive garden in the backyard. It might not be as grand as Halfridge Villas, but there are plenty of exotic flowers and plants. I'm sure she'll love it."

Everyone knew Eleanor liked pretty things, so they aggressively pushed the idea of her leaving the crowded area.

Lillian spread her hands in a helpless gesture. "You all know Mom is sick. I don't control her. It's not like I give a command and she blindly follows. I can't force her to go anywhere.

If you want her to go to the garden, you're more than welcome to try talking to her yourselves."

That put them in an impossible bind.

If Eleanor wouldn't even listen to Lillian, why on earth would she listen to them?

Brandon cautiously approached Eleanor, attempting to use the allure of the backyard garden to coax her away.

The result was disastrous.

Whatever Brandon said clearly offended her. Eleanor shot up from her chair and delivered a lightning-fast, brutally accurate slap straight across Brandon's face.

"You're too noisy!"

Eleanor was incredibly irritable. To her, Brandon was like a relentless, buzzing fly that refused to leave her ear alone.

That single slap achieved a miraculous result: the entire world went dead quiet.

Feeling much better, Eleanor locked her eyes back onto Martin and Sabrina, entirely unwilling to let them off the hook.

But Lillian had acted like a passive spectator from the very beginning.

This realization hit Brandon like a bucket of ice water: Lillian wanted this. She was thoroughly enjoying the show.

How could this be acceptable?

If she was enjoying the show, it meant the Mercer family was being publicly slaughtered!

Even if she did return to the family later, they would forever be buried under an avalanche of mockery.

Desperate, Brandon turned to Lillian with his best compromise.

"Lillian, just coax Mom into the backyard. That way, even if Dad and Sabrina perform The Kneeling Penance today, at least it won't be in front of an audience! It won't be so humiliating.

No matter what, your last name is still Mercer. The family's face is intrinsically tied to yours. Let's just—"

Lillian cut him off sharply. "Are you delusional? If she actually listened to me, and I could just coax her into staying home, do you really think I would have brought her to Noah's birthday party in the first place?"

Brandon's negotiation tactics had flat-out failed. Lillian wasn't buying a single word of his nonsense.