A banquet was taking place at the Smith residence in Channing.
Sean and his extended family of more than a hundred were crowding around Penny and Nathan's family.
Sean was glowing with pride as he sang praises about his granddaughter. “The honor of being awarded the World Peace Prize is not only Penny's —it is the honor of the whole Smith clan to be associated with this!”
Smiling broadly, he raised his glass and toasted, “Here's to you, Penny! Thank you for making our family
proud!”
Penny was blushing a little, overwhelmed by all the attention lavished on her. “This award is not solely my achievement. It would not have been possible without Nathan and the past efforts of my late father-in-law. We owe it all to the support and encouragement from our family and friends too! Thank you, Grandpa. And a big thank you to my dear family!”
She raised her glass respectfully toward her relatives to honor them as well.
The whole clan joyously did a bottoms-up and congratulated Penny.
Benson and Leah were beaming from ear to ear. They had always been insignificant in the eyes of their family, but because of their daughter and son-in-law's achievements, they had become the star and the pride of the Smith family.
Their eyes lingered on Nathan, and the more they observed him, the more pleased they were with him.
After the toast, everyone headed back to their seats, and the banquet officially began.
The Smiths and their guests were having a great time feasting and catching up with one another when suddenly, a few uninvited people turned up.
It was Tye Carlson, the retired deputy governor of the South.
Twenty years ago, when he was the deputy governor, everyone in the South treated him like a king.
In his heyday, all the heads of the government departments in the South took orders from him, and even the underworld bosses looked up to him and curried favor with him. His superior, the governor, was merely a figurehead. Tye was the one with the actual power and influence, and he was given the nickname “King of the South.”
However, justice caught up with him, and an investigation was commissioned to look into his shady dealings.
That resulted in him being forced into early retirement, rendering his glory days of being treated like royalty over.
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