The newspapers carried too many stories of Dawn's return—of how she made her way back to her own family business despite being thrown out. One article even elaborated how Helena had sent people to murder her and how she escaped.

Because of that article, Jason had gone into hiding. He knew that if he surfaced, chances were that instead of serving a lifetime in prison, he would be going to his deathbed straight because he had been Helena's right hand man, which translated into being a henchman for her. If Helena decided to pull him into the fray, he would reveal all her hidden evil deeds. However, he was sure that she wouldn't say a word against him if she were a tad wiser.

​​

Overall, Lily was painted as the evil woman who lusted after her son's money. An article read how the old woman, whose one leg was in the grave wanted all the money. They made cartoons of her and ridiculed her in every possible way. She had received numerous calls for her interview from journalists across the country, but she refused all of them. All the pride, all the fame and all the reputation that she had earned through so many years, crumbled in one single day—and all because the wretched bitch, Dawn wanted to make a comeback in the garb of giving it all to Cole. As for her she always wanted Cole to come back to her. Then why the hell was he so stuck up with his sister?

She was very sick and the doctor had instructed her for complete rest. All the while she was at home, Cecilia hadn't come to meet her even once. The servants told her that she was in her room all the time watching news. She wasn't even taking calls from her mother or father. Lily didn't have the energy to pacify Cecilia. No, she didn't have the inclination to mollify her. She had given her an opportunity to get close to Daryn and she couldn't capitalize on it. If she had, then the family wouldn't have faced this situation.

So Lily waited for her Grandson quietly.

---

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dawn asked Neal.

'First you answer me, Dawn!' came Quetz' another hammer. 'When are you coming here?'

She huffed. 'Give me two days.'

'No, you are coming here tomorrow and spend the whole day with me. There's a lot to learn.'

'Okay!' she grated.

'Also, I have heard the Shaman who was in the head council, he has a brother that we had met in our quest for the Stone of Solaris.'

Dawn's focus went on Quetz entirely. She stopped talking to Neal and walked out to the garden. She faced the river as if imagining Quetz over there and said, 'The Shaman we met in Derize Barrens?'

'Bingo!'

A feeling of unease settled upon Dawn. Then she shrugged off the feeling. 'Well, I am not going there again, so why even think.'

'The point is that you have to hone your magic. It is important for me and for you.'

Dawn turned back to go inside the house. 'Okay, I will be there tomorrow,' she replied.

---

Back in Wyatt Manor, Lily was amused when a servant informed her that someone from the Silver Mansion had come to meet her.

"Who?" she asked.

The servant frowned and said, "A man called Neal."

Flustered, she said, "Prop up these pillows for me and send him in." She wondered what had Neal got to do with it. She was expecting Cole and instead Neal showed up. Maybe Cole was with him. "Is anyone else with him?" she asked.

"No."

The maid propped her pillows and went out to receive Neal.

"Good morning Sir, Madam will see you now," she said politely and guided him to Lily's room.

Like a hawk, she looked at Neal's movements as he walked up to a small chair beside her bed. "You have a lot of audacity to come and visit me," she remarked.

"You should be happy that I even came to see you," Neal replied with nonchalance.

"So what brings you here?" she changed the topic or rather got straight to the topic.

"I believe you sent a message to Cole."

Lily's face paled. "Was it a crime?" she asked in a shaky voice almost on the verge of exploding. She was clearly offended.

Neal crossed his leg and removed an imaginary particle from there. "No, it isn't," he replied looking at her with disinterest.

"Then why are you here?" she wanted him to go away immediately. She didn't want to hear him at all now.

"To tell you that Cole isn't interested in your proposition," he replied and pursed his lips. He had to push her to the edge.

Lily was almost shaking with anger. Her lips quivered when she said, "You are withholding Cole. You don't want the Wyatt business to make a comeback. Now that you know that there's no one left, you are here to torment me. That little bitch – Dawn—she has ruined our reputation. We are now the biggest scammers of the country. She didn't even consider her family's reputation when she dragged us to the court? And she has poisoned Cole. I am telling you all—" she got up from bed, "that Karma is a bitch. That Dawn is going to get it back in some way or the other. God is watching her." Her body was trembling with anger and her eyes were bloodshot.

But Neal—he was stone cold, his face unreadable, and his demeanor unaffected. In an icy voice he replied, "Karma has come back to you and you know it."

"You—" Lily barked.

Neal raised his hand to quiet her. "I have come here with one purpose. I will state that and leave. If you like it, let us know."

"What?" she asked in a hoarse voice. If she were well, she would have got up and slapped this man hard.

Neal said in a very calm voice, "Cole has refused to come but he has proposed that his sister should look after Wyatt's business. If you are okay with that, Dawn can come and meet you. In fact she doesn't have to meet you. She would directly go and join the office."

His words came like hot lava on her already seething mental condition. "How dare you suggest her name after I have clearly mentioned my disgust for her? She has shamed this family. I will never allow her!"

"Dawn wasn't the person who shamed your family. You people were rotten on the inside," said Neal, feeling very protective about his Luna. "Termites in the guise of your daughter and her partner, Helena had eaten the very foundations of Luke's business. When that situation got exposed, you are blaming Dawn? If she hadn't done that, do you think you were going to do any better? You people were already doomed. Trust me, Dawn is the only person who wants to save it." Neal jerked his invisible lock on his forehead and sat straight as ramrod, agitation flowing through his veins.

"You can go to hell with that girl," Lily sneered.

Neal got up. "That is the only option you have left. Accept it or forget it. Who cares?" He knew that he had pushed her to the edge. Mission accomplished. He stomped out of her room.