Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law-Chapter 542_1

James Horne was clearly misunderstanding Phoebe Rogers, thinking that she, a woman nearly sixty years old, was still having an affair.

To find out the truth, he lightened his footsteps and approached the apartment's entrance like a phantom, standing at the door and straining his ears to listen to what was happening inside.

The voices of several men came from the room.

They were all voices he had never heard before. Fortunately, he didn't hear the kind of intimate sounds between a man and a woman that he was dreading.

"Ms. Rogers, the other party is the Horne Family's eldest young mistress. Initially, we didn't know her true identity, but now that we do, she's not someone we can afford to provoke. Glades Horne is a formidable character. You're asking us to help you sow discord in their marriage; isn't the price you're offering a bit too low?"

James heard one of the men say this.

The Horne Family's eldest young mistress?

Isn't that Julia?

They're talking about Julia!

James's expression grew even darker, his features tensing, and his gaze turned icy. However, he didn't immediately alert the people inside but continued to listen attentively to the sounds in the room. At this moment, he was somewhat grateful that his mother's apartment didn't have soundproof doors, allowing him to clearly hear even the quieter conversations from within.

"That price isn't low! I've already given you 1,000,000. How much more do you want? It's just sending her suggestive messages. How much can one message cost you? I gave you 1,000,000; that's already a lot. Stop trying to extort me!" Phoebe's dissatisfied voice rang out.

"Ms. Rogers, you also know Glades Horne is no pushover. If he traces this back to us, we'll all die without a proper burial. You only gave us 1,000,000; that's far too little. What's more, you still want us to find a chance to kidnap Julia Bluen and send her to your son's bed. We're asking you to raise the price to 10,000,000. Considering we're risking our lives to help you, that's practically a bargain. If you refuse to increase the payment, then our cooperation is off. You can find someone else more capable," another cold, male voice said.

Hearing the conversation inside, James, who was standing just outside the door, felt a chill run through his entire body, and he was consumed by a towering rage.

His mother was actually going behind his back, secretly hiring people to do despicable things, intending to break up his elder brother and Julia!

Suggestive messages?

Was his mother having those men send Julia suggestive messages?

Damn it!

"Ms. Rogers, you're the mistress of Gian Horne. The Horne Family is an incredibly wealthy family in this city. Never mind others; just your own son must have assets worth at least 100,000,000, right? You can't even produce 10,000,000, yet you expect us to do this for you? Do you think many people would dare to oppose Glades Horne for your money? If we weren't from out of town and hadn't known who you were targeting initially, we wouldn't have dared to cooperate even for 100,000,000. Now that we've started, we're only continuing, biting the bullet, for our reputation's sake. But the price must increase. Without 10,000,000, our cooperation will still be terminated," the same cold voice continued.

"You know I'm just a mistress. How much money can a mistress possibly have? My son doesn't have that much liquid cash either," Phoebe said, still trying to play the victim and refusing to raise the price.

"In that case, sorry, Ms. Rogers."

The men stood up, no longer willing to negotiate the price with Phoebe. Their faces grim, they started walking towards the exit.

Phoebe quickly stood up and blocked them, forcing a smile. "Don't go just yet! Let's discuss this further." If these men left, she knew it would be very difficult to find anyone else willing to cooperate. These men were only willing to work with her because they were from out of town. Using Julia as the trigger was indeed touching Glades Horne's raw nerve. If Glades were to find out, they would indeed die without a proper burial.

"Without 10,000,000, there's nothing more to discuss."

After a few awkward laughs, Phoebe clenched her teeth and said resentfully, "Fine, 10,000,000 it is! I'll find a way to get the money. You must help me figure out how to get her here. Remember, leave no trace."

Glades Horne was extremely shrewd, and Julia was the apple of his eye. If Julia were kidnapped, Glades would undoubtedly launch a citywide manhunt. To survive, they had to ensure they left no trace.

"Prepare 30,000,000 first, then we'll talk," one of the men said.

"Thirty million? How did it suddenly become 30,000,000?"

Phoebe almost screamed. If not for the fear of alerting the neighbors, she really would have.

"There are three of us brothers. Ten million each comes to 30,000,000. Get the money ready. When you have the full 30,000,000, we'll discuss the plan." Then, the three men bypassed the shocked, furious, and indignant Phoebe and headed for the door. Just as the leader reached out to open it, a vicious, powerful fist suddenly flew towards him. The man reacted quickly, but unfortunately, not as quickly as James Horne. The punch landed squarely on his nose, and it immediately started bleeding.

Seeing their companion get hit, the other two men didn't bother asking questions and immediately threw their own punches, starting a fight with James Horne.

Phoebe was stunned at first. When she realized it was her precious son, James Horne, fighting the three men, her face instantly turned deathly pale.

James Horne usually had a cold exterior and wasn't very talkative. He was generally well-mannered and rarely resorted to violence. Seeing him lash out and strike someone now, Phoebe guessed he had overheard her conversation with the three gangsters.

"James!"

Phoebe, disregarding everything else, rushed forward and threw her arms around James Horne. She urgently said to the three gangsters, "Stop fighting! This is my son! Please, just leave now."

When the three men heard that James Horne was the Fourth Young Master of the Horne Family, they exchanged glances, stopped fighting, shot James a fierce glare, and then left.

James Horne had managed to land several punches on the three men, but he had also taken several blows. Now, the corner of his mouth was bruised and turning purple, and his nose was still bleeding.